A Beautiful Love an Annie Sequel
by MissBrownClue13
Summary: With the permission of the former author of this piece- Lily and Rooster have since taken control of the orphanage, but when an opportunity to escape the tawdry life of New York for a quiet suburban life, will Rooster fall foul to his old ways?
1. Hudson Street Orphanage 1934

DISCLAIMER: The inspiration for this is all courtesy of the wonderful Jenna's Last Jam who has given her permission to allow me to continue her wonderful masterpiece that is 'A Beautiful Love' I just hope that I can live up to her standards by producing something as brilliant as the former story of the same title.

_This story takes place two years after Rooster and Lily were sent to jail for attempted murder of Annie Warbucks. Miss Hannigan is now living at the Warbucks residence along with Punjab who has helped to find her a job in Warbucks' office. Miss Hannigan has passed the responsibility of the orphanage to her brother Daniel (Rooster) Hannigan and his fiancee Lily St Regis. _

She drummed her fingers on his shoulder.

"What?"

"Oh nothing" She gave him an affectionate hug and sat down on the cold floor. She looked at Rooster as he read the newspaper. The curve of his face was covered with stubble. She figured he hadn't thought to shave in a while. Lily looked around the kitchen. She heard the children running upstairs. She was close to yelling, but contained herself. Those kids had been through enough crap, she didn't want to add to it.

"So, ya gonna get a job Daniel?" He looked up at her. She'd always called him Rooster, right up until he had tried to kill Annie, and all for the sake of $50,000. So once he'd been released from jail and become a new person, she'd reverted to calling him by his real name Daniel, and to show his gratitude, he no longer used his rooster crow in conversation, or even when he visited his sister at Warbucks Mansion. He felt he already had a job. Ever since his sister had left the orphanage to him, he spent most of his time trying to give the orphans the best life they could have. He told Lily he was a changed man. She said he wasn't. She said it was just another side to him that he didn't know he had.

"You want me to get a job?"

"Well." She stood up and straightened her plain dress. "Not really. We have to take care of the kids. And we still have to have time for us." He had missed Lily when they were in jail. They hardly ever got to see each other. She was the first person he loved. And the only one. "We've been engaged for over a year Daniel. Are we ever gonna get married?" She sat down on his lap. He put his arms around her. He had been wondering about that.

"Of course we are Lil. And all the girls can be in the wedding." Lily giggled. He knew of how she loved the girls. She talked about how they bonded over poker or something. He didn't even know that they played poker. Apparently neither did Lily. Their heads turned toward the ceiling as they heard little feet coming down the stairs.

"LILY! ROOSTER!" It was Sarah. She was the loudest. "MEETING IN THE LIVING ROOM!" Lily bounced off of Rooster's lap. They walked into the large parlour while holding hands. What is this about? Lily thought. The ten girls filed in to the living room one by one. Sarah came over to Lily and Rooster.

"Alrighty...so we'se fed up with you two."

"Excuse me young lady?" Daniel repeated.

"When are you guys gonna get married?" Lily and Daniel erupted into laughter. Lily thought that they were going to threaten to move out or something. "Since you two can't answer that question, we decided to answer it for you. And you two are going to get married today!" Kay the eldest announced firmly.

"Kay, we can't get married just like that. It takes planning." Explained Lily in amusement.

"Oh it does, does it?" Kay retorted crossly. "You'se two stayed loyal to each other for just over five years whilst Rooster was in jail and we know that you love him, and he loves you…"

"Kay, one day you'll understand. It's not as easy as that."

"Stop talking crap, you know you love each other. What's the difference with two rings, huh?"

"I ain't got the money to buy my wife a wedding ring. I hope you don't mind, Lily."

"No, of course not. The engagement ring's just fine."

"Oh, but it was stolen, Lil. I want to leave all that behind me."

"You didn't really steal it, Daniel. You just took it from a dead body. It's called 'looting'."

"Lil. I promised myself when I was released from Sing Sing that this was gonna be a new start for me. I do love you, Lily St Regis."

"I know you do, Daniel Francis Hannigan, and I need to tell you, Daniel, I've been using that name for so long now it's become part of me, but Lily St Regis isn't my real name."

"Of course, I knew that." Daniel told her, "Girls. Could you give us a moment, please?"

"Sure." Agreed Kay and Sarah, "just take your time, we'se in no hurry."

Once they had left, Daniel Hannigan took his sister's former seat and sat back in the chair. Lily sat on the edge, looking slightly tearful.

"What is it, Lily?" Daniel asked softly.

"I should have told you everything from the start. I was born on the skids. My parents abandoned me when I was eight years old. We had nothing. I stole stuff from the street sellers to feed myself and my brothers and sisters. When I was old enough, I got myself a job in this bar in Jersey City, and the guy who owned the place used to like me to sing cos he said I had talent. So much for talent, I tried every theatre from Radio City to the Roxy and no one would take me. So I reinvented myself, got myself a new name, and became the Lily St Regis you see before you. Then, that wonderful day when I was workin' in that crummy bar, you came in and flipped that guy's wallet from his back pocket. I was so impressed I spilt that stuff all over you, but you didn't care. You were suave, sophisticated and dangerous. You seemed to know what it was like to be left to fight on your own, so…"

"Lily, I don't care about what you did, I love you, I loved you from the second I laid eyes on you, and if you think that I'd walk out on you cos you changed your name and identity then you got me all wrong."

"Daniel, I'm Sadie Oldengwen, that's my real name. If you want to marry me as Lily St Regis, I won't object, but I'd rather die than go back to being Sadie Oldengwen."

"Well, you're always going to be Lily St Regis, and I don't care what anyone says about you. You're my Lily, and that's how you'll stay."

"Oh Daniel!" Lily leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, knowing that he loved her, and always would, made her feel safe and secure.

"Lily, why did you start calling me Daniel? Was the old Rooster Hannigan not good enough for you?"

"No, of course not, Daniel. I just thought…you wanted to be someone new, so you wouldn't want to be known as Rooster Hannigan any more. I'm sorry if you thought I was insulting you, but you know, I often see you on the bridge in my dreams, climbing those railroad tracks to reach that little girl and I think, God, I could never imagine you being like that again. If you remember, when you and your sister first came up with the plan you and I trapped all those kids in a closet and I vowed afterward that I'd never have such brats, well, I didn't mean it."

"You're saying what exactly, Lil? Cos remember, this orphanage is already over crowded, and until this damned Depression ends, that's the way it's goin' to be."

"But who knows when it will end? Daniel, if we can get married, I want to…"

"Have some kids? Lil, there's no way that's appropriate at the moment. Look, we have almost 250 kids here, and they're all under the age of fourteen. We can't be selfish, you know."

"Oh, ok." Lily replied half heartedly.

"We ain't gonna make the same mistake my sister did."

"What, you mean, letting work get the better of you and eventually driving you to drink?"

"Yeah, that."

"Daniel, that isn't going to happen to us, you know."

"Lil, it's the only thing I worried about when I got stuck in Sing Sing. You don't know my sister. This could all have been part of a big scheme of hers."

"Well," Began Lily, cheekily, "like brother like sister, huh?"

Daniel laughed and turned back to his newspaper.

TEACHERS AND UNEMPLOYED DESPERATELY NEEDED

"Lil, this is it. This is what we've been waiting for."

"What is it? Oh my God, a boarding school in New Jersey?"

"Lil, let's get outta New York. There's nothing here for us."

"And what about the kids? We can't just abandon them?"

"We'll take 'em with us. Don't you see, Lil? I can get a job as a janitor, you as a teacher and the kids can have education. It's like it was planned."

"But Daniel, what if we get there and the places are already filled? We can't take that chance."

"If we go and bring the kids later, it could work. I'll call Aggie and see if she'll watch the kids."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Daniel."

"Lil, believe me, we're doing the right thing."

"Ok, call her."

Daniel picked up the phone and dialled the Warbucks residence.

"Hello? Drake speaking. This is the home of Oliver Warbucks."

"I'd like to speak to Agatha Hannigan please."

"One moment, sir. May I ask who is calling?"

Daniel put on a convincing English accent.

"This is Humphrey Saddleton, Miss Hannigan's former lawyer."

"Right, sir. Miss Hannigan, a Mr Humphrey Saddleton on the phone for you."

"What do you want, Rooster?" Groaned Miss Hannigan as she took the phone.

"How did you know it was me, sis?"

"Only you could convince the Warbucks' butler that you were an English attorney."

"Ha, sis, you know me too well. Listen, Lily and I are thinking of going to New Jersey, there's some work there we'd like to do. If we get the jobs, we'll bring the kids with us, but we need someone to watch them while we're away."

"No, Rooster. Not even for twenty five bucks, not for a hundred. Didn't anybody teach you about money in Sing Sing?"

"Sure they did. It was all they talked about. I just need you to watch the kids for…two days, that's all."

"I just got my act together…I ain't gonna blow it all again."

"What, putting alcohol in the bath?" Scoffed Daniel, "sis, they're kids. You treat them right, they'll treat you right."

"Oh yeah…this comes from my brother who chased Annie up the V and O bridge two years ago, just so he could get his hands on 50,000 bucks!"

"I'm not that guy any more, sis."

"Sure. And how's Miss Sticky fingers?"

"Lily's fine, we're gonna get married."

"Ha!" Aggie Hannigan laughed, "You? A husband? Don't make me laugh Rooster. You'd drop her for Miss Honey Tones any day."

"What does she mean, Daniel?" Questioned Lily, snatching the phone.

"Nothing, Lil."

"no she does…Agatha, this is Lily speaking."

"Hey there, Miss Sticky Fingers. You wanna know something about my baby brother?" Her words began to slur, "Well he's a player. He likes to mess around, ya know. So be careful with your commitments, missy."

"Daniel would never cheat me!" Retorted Lily crossly.

"Don't believe that, missy. If he wants someone new, he'll drop you like a 10 cent coin."

"I don't believe it." Lily threw the phone down on the table, causing Daniel to snatch it up.

"I won't have you telling Lil what to do, sis."

"It's just the truth, Rooster. You'll be lookin for another handout soon."

"No, sis. I've changed. I just need you to look after the kids for two days. That's it. Just two days."

"If the New York City Board of Orphans find out I'll be put inside. You want that, Rooster?"

"No. They won't find out. They hardly ever check. It won't matter when we get the jobs. We're taking the kids with us if we do."

"So if you get the jobs, you're taking those brats out of New York?"

"That's right. All 250 of 'em."

"That's the best thing I've heard in ages. They keep coming here to visit…Annie and getting' in my way. You're gonna take 'em off my hands for good if I let you go for this dumb job?"

"That's right. I'm even gonna leave $500 for ya."

"Where'd you get that kinda cash?"

"All those suckers in Sing Sing."

"Rooster. You never change."

"Thanks sis. You'll do it then?"

"You're gonna be the death of me, Rooster."

"Come round tomorrow morning."

"Sure."

Daniel replaced the phone.

"Is it true? You stole 500 bucks in Sing Sing?" Lily demanded coldly.

"How else do you think we've been able to survive?"

"Daniel, you promised me you didn't do anything underhanded in jail."

"Lil, 500 bucks is nothing."

"It is to a lot of people. How could you lie to me like that?"

"Lil, don't take it pers'nally. I lied to protect you."

"Sure. You're just the same as before you went into jail. The same old Rooster, flipping wallets and deceiving people."

"Lil, that money is stored away. I've been saving it for an opportunity, like this. I won't have you travellin' on the back of some flea ridden truck, you're gonna be travelling in style."

"I don't care any more. You lied to me. Me! The one person I thought you really cared about!"

"Lily, I do care."

"You don't. You wouldn't have lied to me. I bet all that stuff your sister told me was true too. You'd drop me for some Fifth Avenue sweetheart at first sight."

"Lil, my sister likes to stir up trouble. But you don't need to worry, she's gonna watch the kids while we're in New Jersey."

"Who said we're still going? How can I trust you now?"

"Lil, please. You just have to."

"I don't have to do anything." Lily retorted crisply, "I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do."

"Lil…"

"I'll go to New Jersey on my own, Rooster."

He grabbed her arm.

"Lil, come on. Everything's perfect now. Let's not spoil it."

"Let go of my hand, Rooster. I need some time to think." She ran out of the room and upstairs. Daniel did not follow her. He sat down in his sister's chair and looked in the mirror. He saw himself as Rooster Hannigan, the player, the thief, the scoundrel, not the face he wanted to see. He had tried so hard to convince himself that he was a new person. He had changed, hadn't he? Or was it all a farce?


	2. Larentford, New Jersey, 1934

The next day, Daniel awoke to find himself draped over his sister's old desk. An empty beer bottle was clasped in his hand and as he lifted his head, his neck twinged. Daniel rubbed his neck and sat up. He could hear the kids shouting upstairs, and in his irritated state bellowed 'Shut the Hell up!'

The crying and shouting stopped. Daniel walked into the kitchen.

"Ya really know how to treat kids, Rooster." Aggie Hannigan was sitting at the breakfast table, sipping coffee from a dirty mug.

"Aw what'cha has to 'rive this early for?" Daniel demanded lazily.

"Miss Sticky Fingers told me about ya little brawl last night. She's gone Rooster. Well done."

"Lily's gone?" Daniel repeated.

"Yes, my baby brother…she's packed her bags and left ya with the kids."

"No, I'm goin' after her. I know where she's gone. To New Jersey, this is where I'm headin'."

Daniel grabbed his jacket, hat and satchel and rushed to the port, where he took a boat to New Jersey.

New Jersey was a slightly less tall version of New York, and clutching the address of the boarding school tightly in his hand; Daniel hitched a ride to the village, Larentford. It was a 19th century pioneer-type town, with shuttered windows and quaint little signs advertising the stores. As they passed through Main Street, Daniel caught sight of a huge grand building on one side of the road. He pressed some folded paper into the cab driver's hand and hurried away before the cab driver could comment on its authenticity.

The building appeared large and majestic, set slightly back from the road, behind tall iron gates. A plaque next to them read:

The Larent Academy: Established 1815

Despite its grandeur, the building looked deserted. The grass forming a square in front was immaculately clipped and yet the fountain in the centre was lifeless.

Daniel tugged at the gate and to his surprise it swung back easily. He walked down the path toward the tall porch when without warning a hunched woman appeared.

"Who are you?" She asked in a typically New Jersey accent.

"Hannigan, Daniel Hannigan." Replied Daniel, nervously.

"What you here for, Mister?"

"I saw the advert in the newspaper…I came for the job."

"It's a joint job. I need a teacher for my pupils, and a handyman."

"Oh, I can do that." Agreed Daniel.

"Ok, but ya going to need a gal. No gal. No job."

Daniel was shocked, but didn't bother to argue.

"I need a gal to get this job?"

"That's the way I'm running it. Come back with your gal, and you got the job."

"You're who?"

"Miss Farquis, the Headmaster's secretary."

"Right…thanks, Farquis."

Daniel tipped his hat and turned toward the gate.

_Lily, why did you leave me?_

A little later Daniel was sat in a bar in Main Street, drinking a floater coffee and twiddling his thumbs agitatedly.

"'scuse me? Ya refusin' ta soyve me? Cos o' what? Huh?" a Latin girl slammed her fist down onto the bar.

"Not havin' this place overrun with you scum." Retorted the barman's wife, crossly.

"Ya callin me scum?" Repeated the Latin girl, hotly.

"Get outta here!" The barman's wife ordered.

Daniel swivelled on his stool.

"It's ok, she's with me." He grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her in, kissing her.

"You! Get offa me!" The Latin girl protested.

"Just play along." Daniel hissed.

"She's with ya, ya say?" The barman queried.

"That's right."

"I ain't heard her say ya name, nor you hers either."

Daniel and the Latin girl looked at each other.

"So? What'cha got to prove?" he questioned.

"Both of ya, clear out. Pity ya, man, rollin' with a tramp like that."

The Latin girl leaned over the bar to protest, but Daniel restrained her.

They left the bar hand in hand.

"What's ya deal, buddy?" She demanded, crossly, throwing his hand away violently.

"I just tried to help ya. Standard procedure, ya know."

"Ya didn't help me. Ya got me barred ya crap shooter."

"I ain't a crap shooter. I'm from New York."

"Sure…what'cha doin 'ere then?"

"I came for a job."

"Oh right…not at Larent?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Ya can't be serious. No one gets a job there."

"But they advertise."

"Sure they does. But no one ever gets in. Cos o' that mule Farqarese."

Daniel laughed.

"What's ya name, kid?"

"Loretta."

"Nice name."

"Gee thanks. I think so…they treat me like scum ya know. No one respects me."

"Jon the club. It ain't easy breakin' out o' prison and stepping straight onto the streets."

"You broke out of prison?!" Loretta's dark eyes were like saucers, "what did ya do?"

"I kidnapped a rich kid nearly killed her."

"Say, your name ain't Hannigan by any chance?"

Daniel stared at her.

"who wants to know?" He asked coolly.

"No reason, ya just got ya name in the paper. Warbucks, won'nit?"

"Yep. I changed though. Rehab in prison…brought me outta myself."

"I know…my parents back in Argentina…they tried to win that $50,ooo moolah. No luck though…s'curity wouldn't let 'em through the gates."

"What'cha doin' here then?"

"Well, ya know…I came for the job at Larent…but they said I has to have a partner…"

Daniel smiled.

"I think ya found him."


	3. Playing the Part, Larent Academy, 1934

**Hello everyone, sorry it's been a while, I had a writers block with this. For those of you who reviewed the previous two chapters, thank you. I really appreciate it! I did get a query asking which version of Annie this is based on. The answer to that is the two films, I've borrowed characteristics from both portrayals.**

Loretta permitted Daniel to stay at her lodgings, at least until they had planned the scheme in which they would receive employment from the pernicious Miss Farquis and her equally snobby school.

The lodgings were located above a haberdashery store and comprised of two fairly large rooms, furnished simply and cheaply, as suited to Loretta's taste, and a small balcony which Loretta admitted she often sat upon wistfully.

Loretta poured Daniel a coffee and sat with him on her sunken couch.

"Was ya serious about this?" Loretta asked, brushing the crumbs from the small coffee table.

"O'course. I din't come from New York jus' to pay my way. I was gonna bring the kids along…"

Loretta blinked.

"You have kids?"

Daniel chuckled.

"No, they ain't mine before ya say somethin. No, these are kids from a New York orp'hnage. I thought I could find some way of gettin' em into school. Ya know?"

"Oh right. Ya want this job that bad, huh?" Loretta queried.

"Yep…I need it. I just…I mean…I need a new start."

"Sure ya do. Ev'rybody in this damn place does. There ain't nowhere to go."

"Loretta, ya must'a come from a hard family if they taught ya that."

"They just taught me that it was foolish to have dreams in this day and age, ya know."

"Oh right…so how we gonna do this?"

"Well…I was thinkin it wouldn't be good to do nothin' underhand…partic'lly as you is an infamous criminal." Loretta retorted crisply.

"Course, but I lef' that all behind in New York."

"Don't make no difference to the authorities. 'Specially if they see you with me. After all, I'm a Latino."

"No, they got you all wrong, miss."

"Ya really think so?"

"Yeah, I do." Loretta reached across to get Daniel's mug and came nose to nose with him. At once, Daniel felt a rush of affection for her. Loretta was vulnerable and elegant, things that brash and bold Lily was not. He leaned in to kiss Loretta but she pulled away, disgusted.

"You thought, one drink and I fall into your arms?" she demanded, displaying her Latino temper in its full glory, "You think wrong, so get out!"

Daniel pulled back sharply. He hadn't meant to make the advance, but he had, and now Loretta seemed to hate him for it.

"Lor, I'm sorry, I don't know…"

"I do. Get out!" She held open the door.

"Listen to me, Loretta. We both need this job, don't we?"

"Yeah, but I no share my apartment with a creep."

"I got my own place, I ain't gonna try nothin'.

Loretta stared at him for a moment, then laughed sunnily.

"I had you. You think I would pass this opportunity to gain work?" she slapped his arm playfully; "I test you. You pass. You see, if we do this, it has to be believable. She has to believe we are together."

"I don't understand, you just repelled me?"

"With good reason. I test my charm, and you fall," she smiled, "but you are con-man."

"Former," corrected Daniel, with less confidence than before, "I know the necessary to get docs and stuff."

"Good." Loretta gathered up the mugs and threw them into the small sink, "you sleep on the sofa."

Daniel was taken aback. He had not expected to have to stay with Loretta.

"Yah, okay," he agreed, plumping the cushions, "this is a business arrangement."

The next morning they set to work. It was not as easy as they had first thought; Daniel had returned to the Academy and asked for a brief on what they wanted for the job. Farquis had made it almost impossible for anyone to fit the guidelines, and it was only with Loretta's quick thinking that they were able to formulate the plan.

Daniel found himself feeling more attracted to Loretta as the days passed. She was, as his sister had termed girls who dressed in gaudy patterns 'perky' and very intelligent. He enjoyed the hours he spent with her, going over the many details they needed for the job, and the nights he spent lazed on her couch, thinking of her in the room next door and wondering what she was dreaming.

Lily was a distant figment, too far away to care about, and when Daniel thought about her he found the memories were becoming vaguer and too blurred to consider in the face of Loretta's presence.

Was he disloyal to Lily? They were engaged after all, but she had abandoned him, and that had stung him more than anything else, and now he had a job to prepare for, he wasn't entirely sure where he belonged.

Loretta arranged to borrow a wedding ring from her landlady, who she said had divorced her husband after he'd run off with a 'saloon' girl, and didn't want her ring any more. It was a beautiful ring of aqua that glimmered in the sunshine and Loretta looked very natural wearing it.

She picked out the best clothes she could find in the local stores, and persuaded to let the store owners let her have them on loan and thankfully, Daniel managed to do the same. He found a dark green suit and a tan-coloured trilby hat and when Loretta was dressed in a patterned dress standing next to him, they were very convincing as a couple.

They approached the doors of Larent Academy with their arms linked, having a false conversation. In the office, Roger Farquis was looking out of the window.

"Here we are Roger, the first set of greedy layabouts."

Jean stood up.

"Which ones?" he asked, searching for the list of prospective interviewees on the desk.

"One is a thin yet stocky man, wearing a suit and the other is a Latino girl."

"Ah," he muttered, "I see, didn't you say he turned up here a week ago without an escort?"

"Indeed." Replied his sister, "bit of a scoundrel."

"Well, if they are looking for employment it doesn't seem fair to turn them away," Roger assured his sister, "send them through, please."

Jean Farquis was suspicious, when it came to people her brother was usually a good judge of character, but something about the man she had spoken to didn't seem credible.

Loretta quickly tidied her hair and powdered her face as they approached the door where Jean Farquis met them, smiling in spite of her dislike.

"Good morning," Daniel greeted her pleasantly, "my wife and I are here for the position?"

"Ah yes, I remember you, sir. Yes, do come in."

She guided them to her brother's study, taking Daniel's hat from him as they walked.

"Your names, if you please?"

"Oh, how rude of my husband," Loretta apologised, making a note to reprimand Daniel later for his carelessness, "I'm Laura Hannigan and this is my husband, Daniel Francis."

"Mr Farquis," Jean opened the door into the study, "Mr and Mrs Hannigan."

Roger Farquis stood up and strode to the two people, observing their every movement.

"Thank you, Miss Farquis."

Jean shut the door and Roger returned to his seat behind the desk, as Daniel and Loretta obediently took their seats.

"First of all, I would like to begin by welcoming you to New Jersey and Larentford; we are one of the oldest and most reputable towns this side of Boston."

"Thank you, sir. Here are our verifications and licences," Daniel handed them to Roger across the desk, "also our written application."

Roger Farquis was surprised at the quality of the grammar in the application but being a man of sound judgement, thought it best not to question the authenticity.

"Ah, New York," he remarked, "I see you have worked in a multitude of trades, Mr Hannigan?"

"Building, stocking, yea, most of it."

"Indeed," he turned to Loretta, "you have taught young children in a kindergarten?"

"Yes, sir." Loretta replied, squeezing Daniel's hand under the desk, "a class of twelve."

"The size of class differs between the ages of the pupils here at Larent," Roger explained, "we believe keeping a restriction on how many pupils are admitted helps them to learn better."

Loretta nodded, determined not to let Daniel down.

"The jobs we are offering are full time and paid. We will allow you to board here in the staff quarters and receive three meals every day with an additional pay for the festive season. I require a janitor and general caretaker to ensure that Larent remains at the highest standard and a teacher for our younger pupils. You will be given Saturdays and Sundays as your leisure time and we do ask that you vacate the premises during that time to have your rooms cleaned."

"Rooms cleaned?" Loretta repeated, "You mean a maid will clean our rooms?"

"Precisely, Mrs Hannigan, I do not doubt that you will both be an asset to this school during these times, so I am delighted to offer you the positions of caretaker and teacher as of today."

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief, they had been accepted and were about to become the newest employees of one of New Jersey's most prestigious educational institutions.

"Your trial period will be a month, during which time you will be called for a personal review and I shall decide whether you will continue your employment with us."

Loretta stood up.

"We won't let you down," she assured the headmaster, "I promise."

Daniel shook hands with Roger before he rang the bell.

"Miss Farquis, would you kindly show Mr and Mrs Hannigan to their room please?"

Jean stared at her brother. Surely he hadn't agreed to employ these people?

"Mr Farquis, I couldn't help but notice, did you mean to say 'room' sir?" she questioned pointedly.

"Indeed I did, Miss Farquis, after all, Mr and Mrs Hannigan are husband and wife."

Confused and rather insulted at what her brother had said, Jean opened her mouth to protest but found that her brother had shut the door.

"Right, this way," she ordered authoritatively and led the way to the staff quarters, "I don't want any funny business while you're here or I'll ensure that you're sent away without a reference."

"Funny business?" repeated Loretta quietly, "she thinks we're gonna…"

"Who'll take the key?" Jean demanded, unlocking a door to the left at the beginning of a long corridor and standing back.

"I will." Daniel offered, but Jean shook her head.

"Oh no you don't. You can take the key." She handed it to Loretta who slipped it into her purse. "Right, the rules: no alcohol, no funny business and no gambling."

"I have no interest in gambling," Loretta retorted and Jean laughed.

"I wasn't talking to you, girl, I was talking to him. I know how New Yorkers can be. Give 'em twenty cents and they'll sell it for a bet."

Daniel frowned.

"I don't gamble, Miss Farquis," he told her crossly, "neither does my wife."

"Hmm, I've heard it all before." She turned to leave, "Good afternoon to you both and welcome to Larent."

With Jean Farquis settled back in the office, Daniel and Loretta took the opportunity to explore their new home. They found that their 'room' was actually a set of three rooms, a bedroom, sitting area and washing area. It was comfortable and well structured, with the option to decorate as they wished.

"Well done, Daniel." Loretta remarked, patting Daniel on the shoulder affectionately, "you got me a job."

"I told you, didn't I?" he told her smugly, "so do you want me to sleep on the sofa?"

"We can sleep in the same bed without any trouble, can't we?" Loretta asked innocently, "you help me get a job, I am very grateful, but what if Farquis checks on us?"

Daniel sighed.

"She won't. We're not in a cage, Loretta." Loretta opened her mouth to retort but Daniel interrupted her, "I'm sorry, you can have the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Sure," agreed Loretta, looking slightly disappointed, "I guess its better."

Daniel began to unpack the small case they had brought with them and arrange some lunch whilst Loretta made the beds.

Back downstairs in his study, Roger Farquis was staring at the portrait on the wall above the mantelpiece. His sister had often chided him for it, saying that it was not healthy to stare at something for a prolonged time and insisted that he should spend his leisure hours observing his pupils and their teachers.

"Not again, Roger." Jean opened the door to find her brother sat back in his chair looking wistfully at the portrait.

"Jean, don't scold me," he warned her, "I know you don't like my decision to employ Mr Hannigan and his wife…"

"Humph!" scoffed Jean haughtily, "if you could call them married!"

"Jean, we are not to pass judgement on them. They seem very decent law abiding people."

"I am sure that they may seem that way to you, Roger, but you are a fool if you think they are married. They display no affection for each other; didn't you notice when you offered to employ them they did not kiss?" she winced at the word.

"Jean, I know your theory, however under the circumstances, I would consider it to be more of an embarrassment to them to kiss in front of their new employer."

"Oh yes, naturally, because that's what most married couples do!" she began to dust the bookshelves vigorously.

"Jean, I will not hear another word against them until you have proof of their deceit."

"Ha! That shouldn't take too long!"

Roger stood up and walked over to the mantel, looking at the portrait of the pretty blonde woman.

"You can't find her, Roger; she's not your responsibility."

"I will find her, Jean and she has a name."

"Oh yes, Sara. Why your sister couldn't have chosen a more appropriate name for the child is beyond me."

"It is an appropriate name. George loved Rebecca very much."

"But he ran off as soon as he knew she was…" Jean indicated her stomach, "hardly responsible!"

"Maybe so, but Rebecca had every right to follow him."

"Into the slums of New York?"

"I know how much you want me to stop the search, Jean, but she is my niece."

"The niece who nobody has seen for years," Jean continued her polishing, "ah well, we shall see."

"Indeed we shall. Did you notice Mr Hannigan's glance at the portrait as he entered?"

"No, do not ask me for my opinion of Mr Hannigan. He is a scoundrel and you are too kind to him."

Roger shook his head.

"I think that is enough polish on one bookshelf," he muttered, "please tell Mr Hannigan to come to my study as soon as he has unpacked."

Jean snatched the duster and walked to the door.

"Yes, sir."

She returned the duster and polish to the kitchen cupboard and with her notebook in hand, went to her new employees' room, tapping politely but briskly on the door.

Daniel, who was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper jumped to attention and hurried to get to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Miss Farquis," came the reply, "I demand that you open this door."

Daniel opened the door and Jean stepped in.

"Buttons done up, please." She pointed her pen at Daniel's shirt which had the top slightly open, "we are smart here at Larent."

Daniel quickly rectified the button and put on his blazer.

"Mr Hannigan, my brother would like to speak with you in his study." Jean explained, looking around the room.

"Yes, of course." Daniel agreed, "Laura, I will be back soon."

"Don't be too long!" Loretta called from the bedroom.

"I won't." Daniel promised and followed Jean to the study.

Jean tapped once on the door and allowed a moment for her brother to grant his permission before opening the door for Daniel.

"Mr Hannigan, sir." She quipped.

"Thank you, Jean."

Roger gestured for his sister to close the door and beckoned Daniel forward to the desk.

"So, Mr Hannigan, you are probably wondering why I have summoned you to my study?"

"Yes, sir," Replied Daniel with the manner of a naughty schoolboy, "Miss Farquis said you needed to talk to me."

"Indeed, Mr Hannigan. I like to have these introductory conversations with all my new employees to make them feel welcome in my establishment. Please do not mind my sister; she is very particular about the reputation of the school as it belonged to our father."

Daniel nodded.

"I also noticed that you took an interest in the portrait as you walked in earlier."

"Well, it's funny; I thought she was someone I know."

"Really?" asked Roger curiously, "who?"

Daniel looked down at his lap, almost in shame for what he had done to offend Lily. She looked like the girl in the portrait; although he wasn't convinced they were related.

"It doesn't matter."

Roger leaned forward.

"Please, do you know her?"

"Who?"

"My niece?"

"No, I'm sorry, I don't," Daniel answered honestly, "I don't know anyone with the name Farquis, apart from you and your sister."

"Pity. I thought you might…ah well…no use brooding on it." He looked at Daniel's confused face and gave a nervous chuckle, "my daughter, Miss Rebecca got into some trouble with a young man and she followed him to New York…"

"Mr Farquis, she bears a slight resemblance to a girl I know, however I don't think it can be her."

"I appreciate your understanding, Mr Hannigan, it is a fine man who will listen and respect the situation."

"Was there something else, sir?"

"Yes, please feel obliged to call on me if you have any problems. I know that my sister can be difficult but she means well. Your wife, I am sure, will enjoy teaching our younger pupils. They are attentive and well mannered and require very little in the way of discipline. Any such matters should be referred to me. I do not believe in physical punishment, Mr Hannigan, in my experience, it causes unnecessary distress to the child and I do not want my pupils to feel that they are not loved. Many of them come from privileged homes however there are a few who are from charitable institutions. I would like you to observe recess and ensure that the pupils are happy and any offences or deliberate actions against our School Code are brought to me."

"Yes, sir." Roger handed him the small rulebook.

"This contains everything you need to know about Larent."

"Thank you, sir, I shall be sure to read it."

"Good. Welcome to Larent Academy, Mr Hannigan."

Roger picked up a small bell on his desk and shook it gently.

"The bell signals the beginning of leisure time for the pupils. I would be delighted if you and Mrs Hannigan would join me in the parlour for a game?"

"Yes, okay," agreed Daniel, standing up, "we'll come to the parlour after we've sorted our room."

"Of course." Roger held open the door, "I hope you play cards?"

"A few games, yes." Daniel replied, "Laura doesn't play, she likes tapestry."

"Then she may bring her tapestry along." Roger smiled and shook Daniel's hand.

"Thank you, I will go and tell her."

Daniel nodded at Roger before running back to the room where Loretta was adjusting the items on the bookshelves which had been brought from her apartment.

"What did he say?" Loretta asked worriedly, "does he know?"

"No, Loretta. Don't worry."

"I do worry. You are a good con man but if we are caught, we will both land in jail."

"I won't let that happen," Daniel assured her, squeezing her shoulder, "Mr Farquis has invited us to take dinner with him in the parlour."

"Daniel, I must take a siesta. You can join Mr Farkis if you want but I am having a nap."

"Okay, I'll see ya later, 'retta."

Loretta closed the bedroom door and Daniel set to unpacking the cases they had brought. As he sorted through them he found a photograph of Lily which he had forgotten about. The sight of her pretty pale face and fluffy blonde curls brought guilt to him, yet he had only been in New Jersey for two months. He wondered where she might be and how the orphans were doing with Aggie back in charge.


	4. The Stranger, New York, 1934

"Miss Hannigan! Miss Hannigan! We saw a mouse! A MOUSE!" Sarah squealed.

"Do I look like the pest control to you?" Agatha Hannigan demanded, it had only been five minutes and she was already beginning to regret her agreement to look after the girls on behalf of her brother.

"Hey, Lucy!" Kay called from the top of the stairs to a smaller girl below, "watch out for walking doors!"

Agatha turned around and walked straight into a door placed conveniently in front of her.

"Get to bed, the lot o' ya!" she ordered and limped over to her old desk, still hurting from colliding with the door.

Her hand pulled open the drawer, expecting to find a bottle of the cheapest vodka but instead, Lily had filed everything in order, deciding that it was the best way to run the annex.

"So this is what you're useful for, Miss Sticky Fingers," Agatha murmured to herself, so loudly that she didn't hear the front door open, then close.

A petite woman walked into the hall, but she couldn't have looked less like Lily. Her face was sweet and youthful with knowing eyes and she was slender underneath the oversized unflattering dress she wore. Her hands clutched at her bag, looking around for the owner or anyone who could assist her but despite her attempts to engage an audience, Agatha could not hear her. It was fortunate that the woman spotted the light in the small room to the back of the hall, so she took the opportunity to address herself to the occupant.

Agatha Hannigan swivelled around in her chair and dropped the glass she was holding so that it cluttered to the floor.

"Miss Sticky Fingers?" she exclaimed in surprise, but the woman looked confused.

"No, I'm Rebecca, Rebecca Aldonquinn."

"Say, you ain't from round here." Agatha remarked, "You ain't obviously heard 'bout the Depression?"

"I have. Are you the proprietress of this institution?"

"Nah, that'd be my brother, but you won't find him, lady, he's gone to New Jersey."

"Your brother is…?"

"What's it to you? You ain't lookin' for him, are ya?" Agatha became defensive.

"No, no, I'm looking for…oh, it doesn't matter; she would have been here a long time ago."

"Who?"

"Sara, my daughter."

"Sara? Nah, we ain't had a Sara here, got a Sarah, but she's ten years old."

"Definitely too young," Rebecca agreed, "I mean, I left the kids, I was so young…now my Uncle's looking for her, he wants her home, with my other kids. They aren't kids any more, but she's untraceable."

"Hey, take a load off," Agatha insisted, indicating a battered old armchair, "you're lookin' for your daughter?"

"I had her when I was seventeen. Gee, it was hard, then the guy who…you know…he came back and before I knew it, I'd got another one on the way. Sara was only three and she needed care too but I had no money, no job, I was living in a run-down apartment with a rent collector hollering at me every day. So I started going around the agencies, got into trouble with one job, it wasn't respectable but I needed the money. I came home every night to make meals for my children, then I'd go and work…it was dirty and demeaning, but I had to feed my children."

"So you got a job, then what?"

"I saved money and eventually managed to pay off the debts to my landlord. He then threw me out, claiming I had short changed him and I found a hotel to stay at. It had a bar and the manager let me work there in exchange for my board and room. Four years later, Sara was nearly ten and due to some reckless behaviour, I now had four mouths to feed. The twins were my priority, and Sara could see that."

"Listen honey, I don't mind listenin' but can ya speed it a little? I got a radio programme at 2."

"You're on the radio?!" Rebecca exclaimed in surprise.

"No, I just listen to it."

"Oh," Rebecca turned away, "I went to find a new job, a better job and when I returned, Sara had taken her brothers and sister and left."

"Okay, Missy, where do you think she might have taken them?"

"This was years ago. I found her brothers and sister, but Sara…is still missing."

"You think she might be here?"

"I don't know," Rebecca replied, "She might be?" her eyes caught a framed picture of Daniel and Lily on the desk and she gasped.

"What?!" Agatha demanded, beginning to lose patience with her guest.

"That…that picture…" she picked it up and looked at it, "who is this girl?" she pointed at Lily.

"That's Miss Sticky Fingers, I can't recall her name. The beau's my brother, Rooster."

"Rooster Hannigan? The one who kidnapped Oliver Warbucks' adoptive daughter?" Rebecca asked, not taking her eyes off the picture.

"Yeah, that's him," Agatha grumbled, "You wanna find him?"

Rebecca tapped Lily's face in the photo.

"This girl…she could be Sara. I need to see your brother, ask him some questions." She paused, "did you say he is in New Jersey?"

"That's right, some fancy school somewhere."

Rebecca put on her gloves.

"Thank you, Miss Hannigan, you have been a real help to me," she stood by the door, "If you see that girl around, tell her Rebecca Aldonquinn needs to talk to her."

"I will, don't worry."

Rebecca smiled before closing the door on her hostess and walked along the street. Agatha Hannigan was very confused; the woman obviously needed to find her daughter but why was it so important now? She wasn't dressed finely and the likelihood of an inheritance was laughable, yet there was something very sincere about Rebecca Aldonquinn that Agatha hadn't recognised and she was definitely a very determined woman.


	5. A Game of Cards, Larent Academy, 1934

At Larent, Daniel was enjoying a leisurely evening with Roger Farquis who was filled with interesting anecdotes about history, art and various other topics. Jean Farquis sat with her back to them, indicating that she expressed her dislike of the new janitor and continued with her puzzle. It was a very complex puzzle but Jean thrived on challenges and strove to prove her abilities to her brother, who was more interested in the staff than his sister's hobbies.

"So tell me, Mr Hannigan, what made you decide to come to New Jersey?" Roger asked curiously.

"Well," began Daniel, shuffling the cards in his hand, "Laura and I both needed jobs, we saw this one advertised in a newspaper and we came here to Larentford."

"She seems like a good girl."

"Yea, she is. Very smart with it too. You can't mess with Laura."

Roger smiled. The young man reminded him of himself in the way that he responded to questions.

"So do you think this is the right place for you? Employment wise?"

"Yea," agreed Daniel, "Laura's good with kids…" he trailed off.

Then it came to him. The kids who he had left in New York with Aggie, what would Lily say about that? Especially as Aggie wasn't that responsible.

"You alright, Mr Hannigan?" Roger asked him.

Daniel nodded. Lily. Oh, where was she? He did love her, but then, what was this growing feeling for Loretta if he wanted Lily? How could he claim to love Lily now, in this farce he was playing with another woman? It wasn't right, but he had no idea about Rebecca.

"Mr Hannigan, do you want to know why I asked you about the portrait?"

Daniel looked up at him. He had been so consumed in his own thoughts that he had ignored his new employer.

"Uh, yeah, okay."

Roger stood up and walked over to a writing bureau, opening a little drawer in the side and retrieving a stack of papers.

"This is information about my niece."

He placed it on the table and handed a sheet to Daniel. Contrary to his reference, Daniel wasn't the best of readers and the document was written in academic language, which, as a poor boy from Brooklyn, he didn't understand.

"Sir, I um…I…" he stammered, struggling to tell Roger, "I can't read this."

Fortunately, Roger Farquis was a sensitive man, used to teaching illiterate children the basic skills and to him it was nothing new.

"I'm sorry, I should have asked," he apologised, "Jean normally does the testing."

Daniel nodded. Although he had spent many a day writing out fake identity forms, they were easy, copy-writing had become big in the line of the early 30's and it wasn't his job to read them but he was beginning to realise that he lacked necessary skills to be employed anywhere else.

"Mr Farquis, it doesn't matter about my writin'. I didn't pay attention at school, I wasn't that kinda kid."

"Well, you will be educated," Roger assured him, "I'll see to that. We'll get you some basic reading textbooks and get you learning."

"You ain't gonna fire me?" Daniel stared at him.

"No, I'm not. We all have different skills, Mr Hannigan and you shouldn't feel that you can't admit your lack of education here at Larent. We're a family, as I often tell my sister."

"Thanks." Daniel muttered and went back to looking at his cards, a slight redness to his cheeks.

"What have you got, boy?" Roger asked.

"Diamonds." Replied Daniel and brandished his card.

"You do play well for your age, Hannigan."

Daniel though it best not to reply to this so he continued the game.

Loretta did not take dinner with the Farquis' and her new comrade as they had asked her to, although Daniel made excuses for her, explaining that she liked to arrange everything in her new home.

"Well I don't think it's right," Jean grumbled, as they sat around the huge table in the dining room, "we ask both of you to come for a reason."

"Jean, some people prefer to meet with new employers when they are comfortable," Roger told her, "it is not for us to ask questions."

"Hmm." Jean turned back to her own dinner, which was a meagre sized portion compared with her brother's.

"So, Mr Hannigan, what would you like to ask about Larent?"

Daniel shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. He needed to keep the answers simple in order to remember them.

"When do the kids arrive?" he asked and Jean coughed.

"Excuse me, Mr Hannigan, but we are smart here at Larent, we expect our employees to speak properly." She corrected, shaking her head. "Perhaps we should arrange some elocution lessons for you?"

"Jean, what have I told you about such things?" Interjected Roger, "we have children here from all across the states, are you to continually rebuke them for speaking in their native tongue?"

"No, just the ones who do not speak well."

Roger looked across the table at her. She had always been very proper in deportment and language; doing her best to disguise the Alabaman drawl she had learned as a child.

"I must say, Mr Hannigan, your wife is very charming." Jean commented falsely, "where did you meet her?"

"Oh, here in New Jersey," Daniel answered promptly, "in a bar."

"A bar? That's not the sort of place you pick up nice girls."

"Laura is a nice girl," Daniel continued, "she's very smart, as I told Roger."

"Mr Farquis if you don't mind!" Jean flushed, hardly able to control her anger, "he is your employer!"

"Jean, calm down." Roger waved softly at her and she patted her napkin briskly.

"I don't trust you, Hannigan," Jean told him angrily, "you may think you can fool us with your impeccable references and personality, but I don't believe it."

She threw her chair back and marched from the room, leaving Roger to diffuse the tension.

"Don't you worry about my sister, she'll come around."

Daniel smiled but he was worried about Loretta, she would not be pleased about Jean Farquis' accusation.

He returned to the room after a small helping of cranberries where Loretta was waiting for him at the table. She had prepared a little buffet of bread and milk and threw her arms around him as he opened the door into the room.

"Daniel! Where have you been? I tell you I am unpacking and you talk for hours with Faraquese!"

"Farquis," Daniel corrected, smiling, "they asked you to dinner."

"Who did?" Loretta asked.

"The Farquis'."

"No they didn't, I would have come if they did. There's some food for you."

"I had dinner with them Loretta, Mr Farquis is teaching me to read."

"Oh," Loretta walked to the couch, "so I am still playing at being your wife, when actually all you want me to be is your con assistant?"

Daniel shook his head.

"No, 'Retta, that's not it at all."

Loretta flicked open a magazine from the coffee table, turning the pages agitatedly. Daniel sat down next to her, trying to get her attention, but Loretta was in no mood for talking. She was angry that her new friend had not informed her about the introductions and was beginning to doubt the success of the con.

"I do not want to speak to you, Daniel." She told him and turned another corner of the magazine.

"Okay." Daniel replied and set to listening to the sports results on the radio, it was the first quarrel since the one with Lily and New York was beginning to feel more like home compared with Larent.


	6. Rebecca Returns to Larentford, 1934

Back in the City, Agatha Hannigan was pacing the floor agitatedly. Rebecca Aldonquinn's visit had spurred her to searching for information, but apart from the photograph, there was nothing in the office apart from documents about the orphans and several sticky lollies.

"Kay, you get your little self out here now!" She called and Kay sauntered into the room.

"Yeah?"

"Did the St. Regis say anythin' to ya before she left?"

"No, she just said that she didn't think it was workin' with Rooster."

"Anythin' else?"

"Yeah, she didn't like you callin' her Miss Sticky Fingers. She ain't a thief, but she said you is."

"Have I ever stole anythin' from ya?" Aggie demanded, patting Kay on the shoulder.

"Nah, but what would we know? Ya keep gin in ya bath tub though, Roosty told us!" the girl laughed and Aggie shook her head.

"Okay, kid, you tell me what'cha know about Miss Sticky Fingers and I won't wallop ya."

"Hmm, it'll cost ya." Kay replied. She was a streetwise girl who knew how to play a bargain.

"What do ya want, kid?"

"Twenny bucks."

"Twenny bucks? You think I've got that kinda loot?"

"Yeah. You gets paid by Warbucks, don'tcha?"

"Dag nab it, alright. Twenny bucks."

Kay spat on her hand and held it out.

"Shake."

Aggie rolled her eyes and shook the girl's hand.

"What d'ya want it for anyways?"

"We wanna put a new window in our dorm. Sarah used her catapult."

"You think you can get a new window for twenny bucks?" Aggie repeated.

"Yeah, or just patch it up with a coup'la boards."

"There are fifteen dorms in this place, all o'ya move to another one."

"We can't." another girl poked her head around the door.

"Oh and why's that?"

"Cos some lady's in it."

"What are ya talkin' about?"

Kay glared at the younger girl.

"There's a lady in the fourth dorm. Come and see!"

The girl, whose name was Marnie, dragged Aggie to the room, where a group of girls were gathered around the door.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, did you tell, Marnie?" July asked.

"Yeah, she's a snitch!" Pepper sneered, "she'll get a knuckle sandwich for it."

"Leave her alone, Pepper!" Retorted Duffy, "we don't know who the lady is, Miss Hannigan."

Miss Hannigan walked into the dormitory, one row of broken and dirty beds lined one wall and on the other there was another, one of them occupied by a lady who was reading.

"Hey!" Aggie exclaimed and the lady squealed. July ran in with a torch and revealed the occupant, it was Rebecca!

"What are ya doin' here?" Aggie demanded.

"The hotel I paid for was locked when I went there, I didn't have anywhere else to stay."

"Which one of ya let her in?" Aggie turned on the girls.

"No one," Rebecca admitted, "I unlocked the front with a hair pin."

"Lookey here, girls, a master criminal. Well ya can get on ya tracks now, can't ya, back to this hotel o'yours?"

"Not really, the hotel won't have room for me now."

"Can't she stay here Miss Hannigan?" July queried kindly.

Miss Hannigan looked at July. Still very sweet despite her raggedy clothes, she was sensitive and well-meaning.

"This ain't a halfway house and what do I tell Mr Donnatelli if he turns up here? Hmm?"

"You just say she's a relative." July replied.

"Okay, okay. What with you and that other kid, Katie, you should be runnin' this place."

July smiled.

"Thanks, Miss Hannigan."

"Introduce yourselves to Miss Aldonquinn," Miss Hannigan instructed to the girls who were listening outside the door, "go on!"

The girls rushed in and gathered around Rebecca, introducing themselves and commenting on her pretty face and clothes.

"What's this picture?" Duffy asked, pulling out a photograph from Rebecca's purse, "who's she?"

"That's Sara." Rebecca told them.

"She's pretty too." Molly remarked as the photo was shown to the girls, who all agreed that the girl in the photo was pretty.

"So how come you're here?" Pepper demanded, nudging Molly hard with her elbow.

"I came to New York to find her."

"Oh yeah? We had a girl like that here once, always talking about how she knew her parents would come and get her. Then she got adopted by a billionaire."

"There's no need to be nasty, Pepper." Duffy commented, "Annie loves Daddy Warbucks."

"Yeah, so what do we get? Huh? Nada."

"We got Rooster and Lily." Tessie put in, "I mean, she took care of us when Rooster was working and stuff."

"Yeah," agreed Kate, "we tidied the office and she filed everythin'. Then her bracelet went missin' and we had to find it."

"Bracelet?" asked Rebecca, "what bracelet?"

"I dunno, some kinda bracelet, it wasn't like a jewellery one though, just a bit of ribbon attached to…"

"A little key thing?" Rebecca questioned curiously.

"Yeah, like a round thing."

She was convinced. The photo she had seen in the office was Sara.

The round thing was the Larent school crest, which she had given to Sara as a child, but Sara had left this annex it seemed.

"Girls, do you think you can find 'Lily'?"

The girls looked at each other.

"Yeah, I mean, she has to be somewhere in America, doesn't she? You hear that, kids? We're going on a road trip." Pepper sneered.

"Pepper," groaned Duffy, "can't you be nice?"

Pepper pushed Duffy and the fight soon became a scramble, with July trying to stop them.

"Do you want Hannigan to come up here?!" She demanded but the girls ignored her. Rebecca whistled loudly and the girls immediately stopped, looking at her.

"There is no reason to fight," she told them, "particularly you, Pepper, is it?"

Pepper nodded.

"Yeah."

"Well, Pepper, you should know better."

Usually the tough streak in Pepper would have responded with a clever remark, but something about the stern expression on Rebecca Aldonquinn's face made her think otherwise.

"Apologise to Duffy, please."

Pepper did so and just as Rebecca was about to read them a story, the girls were called for supper.

They scuttled out of the room and downstairs with Rebecca following them to the dining room which also served as a classroom when the girls were being tutored.

"You know where ya sit," Aggie remarked as they walked into the room, "here's your dinner." She placed a bowl full of mush in front of each girl and then sat with her own plate filled with easily distinguishable chicken slices and vegetables.

"Miss Hannigan, may I ask a question?" asked Rebecca.

"Sure, ask away, honey, I ain't gonna say nothin'."

"Why do the girls have mush when you have a proper meal?"

The girls gaped at Rebecca, no-one dared to complain about their portion.

"What are you implyin'?"

"Well, I can cook them something; it seems a little unfair that you should have a proper meal."

Miss Hannigan stared at Rebecca; she wasn't used to being told what to do.

"A proper meal, eh? What d'ya think this is, a hotel?"

"Not at all," Rebecca answered kindly, "but surely this isn't all there is?"

Aggie chuckled mockingly.

"Kids don't care 'bout what they eat, s'long as they get somethin'."

However, by the looks on their faces, the girls disagreed. Molly twirled her spoon in the lumpy mess of her bowl and let it drip slowly back in, plopping on the mush like bubbles.

"I'll cook you something, girls. What would you like? What's in the larder, Miss Hannigan?"

Rebecca put on an apron and opened the cupboard doors in the small kitchen eagerly, looking for ingredients.

"Larder? What d'ya think this is? A mansion?"

"No. Where do you keep your groceries?"

"Groceries?" Aggie laughed, "It's all in their dinners."

"You don't have anything else?"

"I get deliveries from the Board when I need it. So what are ya gonna do?"

"There must be something for them," Rebecca retorted, exasperated. She pulled open the drawers and checked the cupboards. The only things in them were packets of sugar, medicine and a tin of broth.

"This won't do," Rebecca told them, "Miss Hannigan, if you do have other supplies, please tell me where they are."

Miss Hannigan stood up and opened a cupboard everyone had assumed was for files, revealing all sorts of ingredients useful for making meals. Jams, a small packet of flour, some sugar and three bottles of gin, which Rebecca tactfully pushed to the back.

"Right," She selected flour and some slices of ham and began to prepare some meals for the girls, "we'll soon have these for you."

Within an hour she had created filling dishes for the girls, who were delighted. They were used to meals which were either disgusting or lukewarm and this was a treat.

"Thanks Mam!" They chorused and Aggie stood next to the sideboard in the kitchen, staring at them.

"You see, Miss Hannigan, it's very easy." Rebecca dusted off her hands and took off her apron, brushing past the woman into the office. It seemed so much clearer to her that Sara, her Sara had been here and was still in New York. Her eyes turned to the photograph which was still propped up on the desk.

"You want to find her that much?" Aggie asked gently, stepping into the room behind her.

"Yes, I do." Rebecca murmured. Aggie wedged the door so that it was just ajar.

"I was like that with my brother, didn't see him for months, he was in and outta prison like a rat," she pulled another chair closer to the desk. "Then he met this girl and he changed. He didn't want to fool around anymore, he wanted a quick buck but he wasn't gonna put her in danger too. Then he did this."

Aggie pulled out the newspaper article from the drawer and handed it to Rebecca.

"You're his sister?"

Aggie nodded.

"Yeah, my baby brother. Daniel Francis."

"Then Sara was with him? The kidnapper?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, they ain't together."

"Oh." Rebecca pointed her finger at Daniel, "he is handsome, isn't he?"

"I don't know, he's just my brother."

Rebecca smiled.

"He's also Sara's beau. He might know where she is."

"I doubt it, honey, he was the reason she left."

Rebecca looked confused.

"Okay, they had an argument and she left, she didn't say anything to me, although I saw her."

"Okay, well, where's Mr Hannigan working?"

Aggie laughed.

"Workin'? Honey, he'll be flippin' wallets, I know my brother."

"He's a thief?" Repeated Rebecca, "but you must know where he is?"

"New Jersey, some posh school, Landen or somethin'," Aggie muttered, arranging the papers on the desk, "yeah, pretty sure it's Landen."

Rebecca's eyes widened. Was it possible that Sara's beau had gone to Larent unknowingly and become employed at her uncle's academy? Surely Jean would have objected to a thief working at such a prestigious establishment, though.

"Are you okay?" Aggie asked and Rebecca nodded, smiling.

"Oh, Miss Hannigan, thank you! I know where he is!"

She stood up and raced to the door, throwing it open and grabbing a cab. Aggie followed her in pursuit but the woman was too quick for her despite her petite size.

"Where are ya goin' to, Mam?" the cab driver asked.

"Take me to the station please," replied Rebecca, "the train to New Jersey."

"New Joyrsey? You wanna go to New Joyrsey?"

"Yes, that's right."

The cab driver drove her to the station and using the little money in her purse she took the train to Larentford. The journey was comfortable but Rebecca was so intrigued by the thought of her daughter's beau working at Larent that it seemed irrelevant to make comparisons with other modes of transport as the train chugged through the wide open meadows of East America.

Yet, something worried her about returning to the Academy. Her aunt had called her a 'disgrace' and demanded that she be sent to a 'corrective institution' where she might learn to behave like a lady, but in her anxiety of being refused by the father of her child, she had run to New York, which she soon realised was not a kind city to homeless beggars.

"Can I see your ticket, Ma'am?" asked the inspector and Rebecca subconsciously handed it to him, continuing to stare out of the window.

"Thanks."

The inspector shut the door and Rebecca clutched her bag tightly. Returning to Larentford would be returning to the few people who she could still talk to and secretly she wondered whether Aunt Jean would still be there.

"Larentford!" Called the guard on the platform and Rebecca opened her eyes, collecting her belongings and trudging out into the hazy air of the town.

"You need a hand with your bag, Miss?" asked a young porter kindly.

"Thanks." The porter escorted her outside the station where a row of battered cabs were sat and nervously, Rebecca took the most friendly looking one.

"What's a nice gal like you doin' in a place like this?" asked the driver, smiling widely.

"I need Larent Academy," Rebecca told him, ignoring his flirtations, "please, just do as I say."

Reluctantly the driver turned around and set off for the school, which was little more than a mile away.


	7. Escape to New York, Larentford, 1934

As they neared Main Street, Rebecca felt the nostalgia rush back to her, still the same signs on the windows of 'Carrie's Apparel' store, displaying drab and dull dresses which, Rebecca noted, were probably the same ones which had sat there fifteen years ago.

Then she saw it. The tall Palladian building with its neat clipped hedges and iron gates, still wrapped artistically to form the letters 'L.A'. The driver pulled up opposite and held out his hand to Rebecca.

"Four dollars."

"Four dollars? You drove me a mile, not fifty!" Rebecca retorted angrily, handing over the money.

"You insulted me." Replied the driver, dropping the money into a tatty worn bag on his lap, "good day, lady!"

He drove off, leaving Rebecca facing the gates to Larent Academy, which looked even more majestic than before, with its immaculately mown lawn and freshly swept cobblestones forming the path to the porch.

Daniel was just arranging the tools in the work-shed when he saw a figure approach the gates and knowing his duty was to question all visitors to the school, wiped his hands with a rag and walked to the entrance of the grounds. The woman saw him and darted out of sight, startled that she had been seen, but Daniel, as a streetwise New Yorker, knew what she was going to do.

He climbed up onto the front wall and swung himself over, grabbing the woman by the arm as she fled.

"Hey!"

She struggled in his grip, in his rugged state he looked like a thief, but Daniel wasn't going to let her get away.

"Get off me!" She ordered, thrashing against him and twisting her arm in the process.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya," Daniel explained, relaxing his grip. The woman's hat fell off and he caught it, catching a glimpse of her face.

"Lily?"

"What?" She asked, softly, looking into his eyes pleadingly but on closer inspection, Daniel noticed that her features weren't as youthful as Lily's, so who was she?

"Are you Daniel?" she asked and Daniel stared at her, confused.

"Yeah, but how do you know my name?"

Rebecca looked around at the building.

"Can we go inside?"

"Okay," he agreed, however as they walked to the front door, the woman shook her head.

"Is there another way in, Mr Hannigan?"

"Sure, but…"

"Don't ask me, please, I'll tell you inside."

Daniel was confused but did not show it, he could see that the woman obviously needed to share her story privately and as Loretta was teaching a class and wouldn't be back until much later, he took the woman to the apartment.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this." She murmured as they took a seat on the couch.

"It's no bother," Daniel replied, "so what's this all about?"

"Mr Hannigan, I've just come from New York."

"Okay, but I don't get it, how do you know my name?"

"Your sister told me."

"Aggie?" Daniel chuckled, "nobody decent knows Aggie and you definitely ain't no hooker."

"Thank you." Rebecca replied quietly, gulping slightly. "My name's Rebecca Aldonquinn."

"Aldonquinn? Wait a minute…"

Daniel looked at the floor, trying to recall what Farquis had said. The name sounded so familiar and he was sure that he'd heard it from the headmaster.

"I guess you know about me." Rebecca smiled, taking off her scarf.

"I can't think, but I know that name."

"You do?" Rebecca repeated, curiously, sitting up.

"Yea, I'm sure I do." Daniel walked over to the kitchen area, "you want coffee?"

"No, thank you." Rebecca answered primly, eager to learn more, "it wouldn't be a Sadie Aldonquinn by any chance?"

Daniel swore as he dropped the hot kettle with a clutter on the sideboard.

"Aww crap!" he withdrew his hand sharply from the handle, "what do you know about Sadie Aldonquinn?"

Rebecca rushed to him.

"You do know her!" She grabbed his arms.

"Hey, I didn't say that. I just said…you're the girl from the painting!" He pushed her back, recognising her face.

Rebecca's eyes widened and she turned away.

"Yes, that's right."

"Don't'cha know people are lookin' for ya?" Daniel demanded, washing his hand in the sink.

"Looking for me?"

"Yea, 'specially Roger."

"Roger? Not my Uncle Roger?"

Daniel patted her on the arm with his free hand and gestured toward the couch. Rebecca obediently walked to the seat and sat down, looking confused.

"You're saying my Uncle is looking for me?"

Daniel nodded.

"That's right, Miss Aldonquinn."

"But how can he be?" demanded Rebecca, pacing the floor agitatedly, "I was told to leave by my Aunt."

Daniel saw the worry in her face, it was almost like the expression Jean Farquis was always wearing, solemn and yet proud.

"Did you say your Aunt told you to leave? What's your Aunt's name?" he asked gently, turning the cup of coffee in his hand.

Rebecca paused for a moment, turning her head to one side to look at Daniel.

"You know her, don't you?" she questioned, sliding onto the chair opposite him and placing her hands neatly on the table.

"Look," Daniel held up his hands, "I don't know what happened with you and your Aunt; I just know that if she finds you up here it ain't gonna look good."

"Just tell me if you know her!" Rebecca slammed her hand on the table, losing her temper.

"Yeah, okay, I know her. She works here, with your Uncle."

Rebecca looked away, it was almost too difficult to explain; how Aunt Jean had taken her by the scruff and literally thrown her from the family home, calling her a 'disgrace'.

It was surprising to Daniel how much Lily looked like this woman, in her plain patterned frock and fashionably curled waves, she could have been his Lily.

"So Sadie's not here?" Rebecca murmured, playing with her handkerchief.

"No, who is this Sadie?"

Daniel walked back into the kitchen and poured another mug of coffee for her. Oh how he wanted Lily, but Loretta was thought of as his and he needed her to make the scheme work. As he caught sight of his reflection in Rebecca's pocket mirror with his immaculately combed hair and clean face, it all seemed farcical. He wasn't a gentleman; he was a rough kid from Brooklyn, just like Lily.

Rebecca was also intrigued by this young man who stood before her, his features were not that of a well-bred family, she could tell, yet his eyes were warm and she could not help but think that she had seen him before, or perhaps he was just what her Aunt referred to as a 'blended face' someone who was not distinctive enough to stand out in a crowd.

He heard the keys jangle in the lock and quickly ushered Rebecca into one of the adjoining rooms, clearing away her mug and stashing her hat in his coat pocket.

"Daniel?" Loretta queried, taking off her cardigan, "where are you?"

"Right here!" He turned to greet her, patting her kindly on the arm.

"Oh, you have not cooked anything for me?" Loretta continued, looking at the empty pans on the cooker.

"No, I've been busy, sorry."

"You men, waiting on the women to cook you meals." Loretta shook her head. Although she was fond of Daniel, certain traits of his irritated her.

"So, I think I shall read my new magazine and you can cook the dinner." She instructed, sauntering toward the bedroom and Daniel, realising that she was about to find Rebecca, darted in front of the door, insisting that she should listen to the radio.

"The Lady's Hour is on," he told her, leading her to the couch and switching on the radio, "why don't you listen?"

Loretta frowned.

"What is going on?"

Daniel smiled widely.

"'Retta, you deserve some leisure time."

"Ooh, okay," Loretta swung her arms around his waist and ruffled his hair, "I know leisure."

"Whoa, I didn't mean that!" he unwrapped her arms from his waist and stepped back, unsure of what to say. He knew that Loretta admired him, but now she seemed more intent on becoming the character she was playing, Mrs Laura Hannigan.

"Have I given you any inclination?" he asked firmly, flushing slightly.

"No, we are good together, Daniel. We match."

Rebecca poked her head out from behind the door.

"No, Loretta. When I met you, I wanted to help you, but we're friends. I have a gal in New York City."

"The one you have picture of?" Loretta asked mockingly.

"Yes, Lily."

Loretta placed her hand on his clean smooth cheek and smiled.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"I don't know. She left me back in New York."

He walked to his coat and took out the photograph. Rebecca peered at it as he walked by the door, intrigued to see if it was Sadie and, looking at the similarities, she was correct.

Loretta saw the expression on his face and tapped his cheek kindly. The girl in the photograph was very pretty, slender and sweet and it was obvious that he cared about her, but she wasn't the type to let another girl conflict with a scheme.

"She is a pretty girl," Loretta agreed, "but you are now working with me. This girl left you in New York; you don't know where she is, so please, let's just get on with this, our job."

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at Loretta. The young Latino girl obviously knew how to work with other criminals and was using Daniel to get what she wanted, trying to coax him into becoming a real partner in the scheme.

Daniel saw her looking and shook his head, indicating for her not to become involved, it was not right to tell Loretta about her just yet and he didn't want Farquis to know.

"You're worried I tell Farquis?"

Daniel nodded.

"You have no worries. I won't tell that woman anything. She is a nasty, scolding woman and I pity her for being so."

Daniel took Loretta's hands in his.

"Thank you, Loretta."

"Ah, it is nothing. You might want to tell me why there is a woman in my room, though."

She turned and opened the door into the bedroom. Rebecca strode out, not in the least perturbed by Loretta.

"So?"

"Let me explain," insisted Rebecca, "my name is Rebecca Aldonquinn and I am a friend of Daniel's."

"A friend?" repeated Loretta, looking from Daniel to Rebecca, "ah, I see."

"No, it's not like that!" Rebecca retorted, "I come from New York, like Daniel, he knows…someone I know."

"Oh yes, of course." Loretta scoffed.

Rebecca pointed at the picture in Daniel's hand.

"He knows her. I know her. I came here to talk to him, nothing else."

Loretta nodded and sat down on the couch whilst Daniel and Rebecca took the seats at the table. They avoided looking at each other as though ashamed to, and Rebecca felt very uncomfortable about Loretta. She wasn't sure quite why, but there was definitely something dislikeable about her. Perhaps it was the way she had reacted to Daniel's explanation about her being in the apartment, or her snide expression, but even so, she wasn't going to demand an answer from the Latino girl.

"We cannot sit here in this quiet," Loretta remarked, startling the two people, "I suggest I make dinner."

"That would be very kind, thank you." Rebecca replied, easing the tension.

"Daniel?" Loretta asked, patting him on the shoulder, "what should I cook for you and Miss…"

"Miss Aldonquinn."

"Yes, Miss Aldongin." She began to shuffle the pots and pans, "what would you like, Miss Aldongin?"

"Just a sandwich will do," Rebecca insisted, "I don't want to disrupt your normal routine."

"Nonsense." Loretta threw some flour into a bowl, "you must eat." She smiled at the woman and Rebecca returned it, sensing that the girl was trying to make some effort to be friends.

"I'm gonna listen to the racing." Daniel told the women, standing up.

"No, you are not. That is a bad thing." Loretta scolded, "You waste money, you should concentrate on more important things."

Daniel could see that she did have a point. It was what the old Rooster Hannigan did, playing around, spending money he could only gain from placing a bet suggested by a drunk in a shabby bar.

"Okay, I won't." He tapped Loretta's arm affectionately as she continued to stir a mix of ingredients in the bowl and her gaze followed him to the couch. Rebecca merely smiled; she sensed that Daniel was being deliberately evasive with Loretta and was pleased; it would help to keep her out of the search for Sara.

With his head leaning against the front of the wireless, Daniel looked every bit the old Rooster Hannigan, the kind of man who didn't take 'no' for an answer and would be quick to use his fists if necessary. He didn't offend Rebecca, she was intrigued by him, eager to know why her Sara had agreed to be with him, when, if she had known Larent, she could have been eligible for men of a more privileged social class. Then again, she reminded herself, she can still be eligible for them.

Loretta slammed down her bowl of odd looking mixture onto the table, showering a spray of it onto Rebecca, who pretended not to notice. She could tell that the Latino girl objected to her being in the apartment but wasn't about to cause an argument for the sake of it.

"Daniel may think you are nice, I say different," Loretta murmured, stirring the clumps of cabbage and carrots in her bowl, "you are here to cause trouble and I will not have it."

"I am not here to cause trouble," Rebecca replied gently, "I am here because…" she trailed off, unsure whether to share her dilemma with the girl, "because…"

"Don't make exercises," Loretta retorted, "you do not fool me. You are not poor, you wear nice clothes and wear bracelets whilst we slave for every penny and I make my own clothes!"

Daniel looked up from the wireless but both women smiled reassuringly.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," the women answered in unison, "just carry on."

Daniel wasn't convinced but returned to listening to the races. If the two women were quarrelling, he didn't want to be involved, it was too much hassle.

Confident that they couldn't be heard, Loretta continued, tapping her shoe against Rebecca's leg for attention.

"So I can't throw you out," she told Rebecca, "but I can tell you to leave."

Rebecca frowned. She wanted there to be civility between them but Loretta was being so defensive, particularly about Daniel.

"Well, Daniel doesn't seem to mind about it." She replied, looking at Loretta and thinking that Larentford was so different to New York. The Larent she had known as a child was a quaint village where people shared their abilities in the community and did everything to help each other, but then the Depression of 1927 had hit and now Larentford was scrounging its way through supplies which had been so easily available before.

Downstairs, in the study, Roger was poring over the academy's agendas when Jean walked in. He quickly shoved them back into the files and pretended to be reading the newspaper.

"Roger, you should know by now that you can't fool me." Jean reprimanded him, standing opposite the desk.

"No, no." He hastily folded the paper and smiled at his sister, looking at those intriguing hazel eyes she hid behind her pinched thin glasses, but she did not smile back. Her expression was that of distaste, as though she found the idea of smiling difficult.

"Well?" Roger asked politely.

"It's about the Hannigans," explained Jean and Roger frowned.

"Oh yes? What do you want to accuse them of this time, Jean? I know you don't like them but Mr Hannigan is a fine man."

"It's not about him. It's about her. The Miss he has with him." Jean fiddled with her fingers.

"Oh? What about Mrs Hannigan?"

"Well, that's just it, Roger, I asked Mitch to look into it, to see if I could find her details but he couldn't find her name. The other Laura Hannigan was in New York."

"Well, that must be her, then, mustn't it?" Replied Roger firmly, "why did you ask Mitch to look for her?"

"It wasn't her I wanted to ask about. I wanted to see if he could…" she sat down on a chair and dabbed her cheeks. Roger's face softened. She hadn't been looking for Laura, she'd been trying to find Rebecca, but in the most awkward way. His gaze turned to the portrait of her on the mantelpiece, Jean had not taken kindly to her, in fact, she'd thrown her out after the scandal and he had stood there, agreeing to it. Why had he not been considerate of her? Was it because she was like her sister, with her wilful tendencies? Or was it because she had scandalised them? Either way, Rebecca was still his priority.

He stood up and walked around the desk, patting his sister's shoulder and calming her. She was stubborn, but then again, so was he.

"I know why you did it."

"You do?" Jean dabbed her eyes with a monogrammed handkerchief, "oh?"

Roger gestured at the portrait on the mantelpiece.

"She does mean something to you. Despite what you've said over the years, she is still our niece."

Jean nodded. She looked so different in her distressed state, nothing like the hard faced stubborn woman who strode the length of the school's corridors reprimanding the students for being sloppy.

"Laura Hannigan, did you say?" Roger asked suddenly, looking confused.

"Yes, why?" Jean replied, keeping her hand on her brother's arm.

Roger stood up and began to pace the floor.

"Let me see that document, Jean."

"I don't have it. Mitch just told me that there was a Laura Hannigan in New York, but I don't understand, what's that got to do with anything?"

"Jean, you were looking for Rebecca, not Sara, and I don't somehow think that Laura Hannigan is as old as that. Mr Hannigan is only 34."

"I take your point." Jean muttered, "I guess I should leave the search to you."

Roger put his arm around her.

"You're doing it because you want her here."

Jean shook his arm away.

"Yes."

She glanced up at the portrait and walked away, Roger's gaze lingering on the girl's pretty, unassuming face.

"Do you think I might turn in?" Rebecca asked Daniel politely and Loretta, who was listening, threw a nasty glare at Daniel.

"Of course." He replied, "Here, you have my bed." He gestured at the small bed in the corner and Rebecca sat on it gratefully, smiling at him.

"Thank you, Daniel, for everything."

Then the strangest feeling came over him. He saw Lily in that earnest face. It was Lily's smile, modest, sincere and those were Lily's eyes. The yearning that he was struggling to hide from Loretta only intensified as he stared at Rebecca, bringing with it a sense of home, of the annex, of where it had all started.

"Daniel, we have chores to do." Loretta reminded him, briskly, bringing him back to reality and he reluctantly obliged, picking up the broom and sweeping the floor. The image of Lily was becoming clearer by the minute, something about Rebecca had unlocked that part of him once more, as the rogue who did everything to impress the girl he loved, but now, he was tied to this job, a job which was useful to earn money, but incredibly dull. Loretta also, for all her talents she was manipulative and scornful. It wasn't right, why should he stay at Larent and keep pretending that everything he loved was here? It certainly wasn't, but somehow, he couldn't bear to leave Rebecca.

"Then take her back to New York with you."

Daniel turned toward the closet and pulled out his suitcase. He couldn't stay here. Not with Loretta and her constant demands, he belonged to Lily, in New York.

Then there was Rebecca. He didn't love her, but he felt responsible for her. She was a lonely person who needed comfort and the annex in New York could provide that.

Tugging out his clothes from the closet he pulled everything into the suitcase, but then it occurred to him that perhaps it was better to leave it all and make Loretta think that he had just started work early.

Abandoning the case he slipped into the bedroom and tapped Rebecca on the shoulder.

"What?!" She squealed.

"It's me, Daniel!"

Rebecca tugged at her bedclothes protectively.

"What do you want? Get out!"

"Rebecca, I'm leaving, if you want to come with me back to New York, you can work with us."

"What about Laura?" Rebecca asked, gesturing at her.

"She's not coming with us. Be very quiet and don't wake her. Meet me downstairs in the study in ten minutes."

Rebecca nodded and Daniel left the apartment, hurrying down the stairs to the study, which was locked.

He swore quietly and looked around for a pin. Being a criminal had taught him many skills such as how to pick a lock and swiftly he used a stray hair pin to open the door.

The office was empty. The curtains were drawn across the wide windows making the room appear even smaller and there was no merry flickering in the grate to reassure him that everything would be fine. Intrigued by the areas which had been restricted before, Daniel leaned to look into the many glass cabinets which adorned one side of the room, their contents seeming to sparkle in the dimness. There were goblets and jars, silverware and books, each with their own unique story of the school and Daniel found it hard to fight back the urge to steal them all.

His hand brushed against a silver brush which on closer inspection, was engraved:

_Rebecca Farquis_

_A True Lady of Larent_

_All our love,_

_Mama and Papa._

Daniel twirled the brush in his hand, looking around for other interesting items, but as he stood in front of the mantelpiece his gaze met with the face of the young girl in the portrait. She was looking at him with a scornful expression as though annoyed by his lack of manners.

"You look at me as though I've done something wrong," he muttered, looking down at the silver brush in his hand and holding it up to the portrait, "I'm leaving this here."

He placed the silver brush on the mantel and stepped back. It was probably a trick of the light but Daniel was sure he saw the girl's expression change slightly, assuming her usual contented look. As he stared at the portrait, a warm feeling began to fill him.

That look, why did it seem so familiar? He'd noticed it the first time he'd been in the study, and Roger had commented on it. What was it that intrigued him about her, so much that Jean had warned her brother not to keep looking at it longingly and insisted that he should find a diversion?

Then as the door opened and Rebecca walked in, he realised why.

"It's you!" He exclaimed, pointing at her.

Rebecca closed the door softly and backed up against it. She had not wanted to be reminded of what had happened at Larent. _But I can't deny him. I can't tell him that it's not me. It is. _

"Yes, it's me." She murmured quietly.

"What are ya doin' here?" Daniel demanded, "I thought you were just some poor woman from the skids."

"Not exactly," Rebecca began awkwardly, "I came from New York."

Daniel looked at her. The woman who stood in front of him looked so familiar in the dim light, the subtle gentleness of her eyes and sweet expression, she could have been Lily.

"Why are you staring?"

"Sorry, I guess…you just look…"

"I look like who, Daniel?"

"Someone I know…my girl, back in New York."

"Your girl…" Rebecca sighed, walking to a chair and composing herself. "Mr…Hannigan, it's taken me years to pluck up enough courage to come here, and I don't know," she began to sob, "if I can…"

Daniel placed his hand on her arm kindly. It was obviously very distressing for her.

"You don't have to tell me, you know." He told her, "I still can't talk about Lily."

It was the first time he'd said her name aloud for weeks and just for a moment it was as though she was there, listening.

"I ran away from here when I was seventeen years old," Rebecca exclaimed suddenly, "I was a reckless and foolish young lover to a much the same reckless young man, who did what he did then abandoned me. I was stupid enough to think that his sudden retreat to New York was due to a business opportunity and followed him, all the way to those offices of his, sick with cold and exhaustion, only to find him gone. I couldn't go back home, I'd been cast out by my folks, who told me I had no business with them. I was helpless and alone, scraping what I could to feed myself until the day when I gave birth to her, my beautiful little Sara, on the steps of a hospital in Queens. A nurse found me and took me in, allowing me time to gather myself before I set out on my travels around the restaurants of downtown New York. I needed to feed Sara, or leave her."

She paused, looking up at the portrait.

"You know, if I saw her now, she'd look just like me."

Daniel followed her gaze, something stirring inside his heart. With each sentence it all became clearer.

"Rebecca…I know who she is." He blinked several times, determined not to cry. This was Lily's mother, his Lily's mother.

Rebecca turned and stared at him, perplexed. Had he really said what she thought he'd said?

"I don't know where she is, Ma'am, but I know her."

Rebecca clutched his arm.

"Please, help me to find her. Please." Her pale blue eyes, so like Lily's glittered with tears.

"Yeah. I will." He paused, "but first we have to get out of here."

Rebecca stood up, wrapping a scarf around her head.

"I know the way."

It wasn't long before they had reached the station at Larentford. The train was due to leave in twenty minutes, giving them just enough time to buy paper so that Daniel could write his letters to Roger and Loretta.

"Daniel, Mr Hannigan," Rebecca began, "what was going on with you and that Latin girl?"

"It's a long story." Daniel replied carelessly, propping the paper together.

"It's a long journey," Rebecca smiled back at him, "you can tell me, I promise I won't be shocked."

"Okay," Daniel nodded, "it all started back in April. Lil and I were working at an orphanage in New York, and…" he recounted the events that had taken place, how Lily had been disgusted at the news he had stolen money from other prisoners in Sing Sing, how he'd taken up with Loretta in order to win the job at Larent, and how much he missed Lily.

"They say the grass is always greener, and I believed it," he concluded, "if I hadn't have been so reckless, I might've been able to give her the kind of life she deserves."

"There it is, you see, we can all be reckless sometimes." Rebecca patted his hand.

"All aboard for New York!" The guard yelled, and the two escapees clambered on the train, determined to cast Larent out of their minds.

They found a small compartment with a suitable amount of room, and Daniel began his letter.

"How do I begin?" He asked. Rebecca looked at him with her knowing eyes, and nodded.

"You'll know. Just think about her. What she would want to know."

It took him all of two hours to complete the letter and after scrawling his name at the bottom of the second page, he sat back, stunned. It wasn't exactly a masterpiece, but it would have to do.

"I can't believe I needed to write that much."

"If it's what you feel, it'll be enough." Rebecca leant her head against the window, "the last time I made this journey I was seventeen, and I had nothing. The only reason I could afford a ticket was because Uncle Roger took pity on me."

"Roger? Yeah, he's decent."

"Oh, of course, he's the principal now."

"Yea. He taught me to read."

"Taught you to read? Mr Hannigan, you must…" she trailed off. It was best not to speak disparagingly of people who weren't as fortunate.

"What are we gonna do when we get back?" Daniel queried, a pink tinge appearing on his cheeks.

"I don't know, can't we go to your sister's place?"

"You know about Aggie?"

"Mr Hannigan, I've been to see her. She's the one who told me where to find you."

"Of course." Daniel reprimanded himself for not recognising the fact that Rebecca knew such a lot about him.

"She seems nice, your sister, I mean. Helpful."

Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, she seems nice, I guess she is, in her way. She's just got no idea as to handling kids. We have 200 of 'em in the orphanage, and she spends her whole time drinking and punishing 'em." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Just like our dad."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Aggie and I were fighters, you could say. I was a punk kid, playing dirty on the skids to get what we needed. I made my first pickpocket racket when I was eleven. After that we sorta drifted. Mom…well…she left and it was just Aggie and I. My eldest brother had gone off with some broad and we didn't hear from him. He got into the racket culture, taking his broad with him, and I followed suit. There were lots of dames in the clubs I went to, but nothing interesting, til I met Lily. She was workin in a crap bar in Brooklyn but unlike the other broads, she was a lady. Everythin about her oozed class. I took up with her when she caught me stealing a guy's wallet, seems pretty strange but it worked. We got to know each other and then decided we wanted to stick together."

"That's wonderful, I'm so glad she found someone to care for."

"I care for her as much as she cares for me. I never felt that way about anyone. Not the way I feel 'bout Lily."

Rebecca dabbed her eye with a handkerchief. So her little Sara had found her prince…even if he was a little rough around the edges.

"Did she ever speak about me?" She asked.

"Not really." It was only natural for her to ask, though, Daniel thought. "I love her so much, I want you to know that."

"I believe you," Rebecca's tone was sincere, "but you need to find her."

"You aren't?"

"No, it's your…"

"Okay."

The train suddenly juddered, sending Rebecca hurtling to the floor. Daniel immediately pulled her up, his hand clasped tightly in hers. Her hands were exactly like Lily's, small and delicate.

"Are you okay, Ma'am?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thank you, Mr Hannigan. I guess…we should…" she indicated the door.

"Yeah."

Daniel grabbed the suitcases and they stepped down from the train. Grand Central Station was filled with people, all looking very anxious. What was left of the rich clutched their possessions protectively as though afraid they might be attacked, the Irish dock workers were swaying to the tune of a folk song, and little children scuttled around, their faces bright with excitement. The mingled smell of hot dogs and old paper wafted around, welcoming New Yorkers and visitors alike. Daniel and Rebecca wandered through the station, keeping their eyes on every face encase Lily should appear. As they neared the entrance Rebecca shook her head. It was foolish to hope that her daughter would be there, like a scene from a movie, swathed in smoke from the train, her arms outstretched.

"Ma'am, can I take your bag?" Daniel had hailed a cab and now the driver was standing in front of her, waiting for her to hand him her case.

"Oh, yes." Rebecca thrust it at him and climbed into the cab.

"Where we off to, folks?"

"Hudson Street Orphanage."

"Sure."

"Miss Hannigan! Miss Hannigan!" Duffy called from the top of the stairs.

"What is it?" Agatha drawled, tightening the belt around her slim waist.

"Pepper's put her foot through the board!"

"Oh sure, well she can just pull it on right back out again, can't she?"

"Yes, Miss Hannigan." Duffy replied, charging back along the corridor above. Agatha clamped a hand to her head. Three days, Rooster, three days, you said, you no-good…."

The door closed behind her and a familiar shadow cast across the bare planks of the hall.

"Say…" she turned around.

"Hi, Agatha."


	8. Hudson Street Orphanage, New York, 1934

"Can you speed it a little?" Daniel demanded agitatedly. They were stuck in a traffic jam on the centre of Fifth.

"Sorry, no can do, pal. Ya know what I gotta do today?"

"No?"

"I gotta finish my shift, get home to my Janey before she pops out another one."

"Pops out another one?"

"Yeah, our third in three years. Gee what a house full we got."

Daniel nodded, his anger relenting. What was his plight in comparison to the driver's?

"Nothing." He murmured, and sure enough, the traffic lifted, allowing the driver to make the journey all the way to Hudson street without further trouble.

"Here we are, folks. That'll be seven dollars and fifty five cents."

Rebecca reached for her purse but Daniel stopped her, pulling out a ten dollar note.

"keep the change."

"That's very generous of you, thanks." The driver smiled at him, pocketed the note, and drove off. Daniel slipped his arm through Rebecca's and walked up the steps to those doors he knew so well.

"Aggie?"

Agatha opened the door, clinging onto the handle.

"Rooster?! What the heck you doing here?"

"Aggie, this is Rebecca Aldonquinn, but I guess…"

"Cut to the point, Rooster, I got things to do."

"Aggie, I need your help."

"Oh yeah?" Agatha slammed the doors and spoke through the vent, "Three days, you said. THREE DAYS! Make that one, two three…FOUR MONTHS!"

Daniel took off his hat and stepped closer to the vent.

"Aggie, I'm not asking much. Please…I'm sorry. I needed to get things sorted."

"Okay. Hey, Miss Oldiginn."

"Hello, Miss Hannigan."

"Get yourselves in, then." She held open the door and they stepped through, following her to the office.

"So, what brings ya back, Rooster? You got some kid into trouble?"

"No, Aggie." He loosened his tie, "Rebecca, I gotta talk to my sister, can you wait in the front?"

"Of course." Rebecca left the room.

"You know I've never thought the best of you, Rooster, but to steal your own fiancee's mother…" Aggie unscrewed a bottle, "that's wrong."

"Aggie, I didn't steal nobody. I promise. I need to find Lily. I wanna tell her how much I love her, how much I miss her…but I can't."

Agatha propped two glasses on the desk and perched on the edge of it.

"That's your problem, my darling baby brother, you don't know what you got til it ain't there no more."

"I know, I'm a shmuck. Have you heard from her?"

"From Miss Sticky Fingers? What makes you think she'd contact me?"

"I don't know." Rooster played with the glass, tapping it gently on the tabletop, "Aggie, you gotta help me find her."

"Okay, alright." She drained the glass in her hand. "Will someone please tell those brats to keep their cakeholes shut for one second?!"

"SHUT UP!" A voice yelled up the stairs, but it wasn't Rebecca's. Daniel looked around the room in disbelief, hoping to find the source of the voice, but no one was there.

"Can someone fetch me a coffee?" Aggie demanded, but there was no response.

Daniel sighed and hung his head.

"You know, I keep thinking I hear her. In my dreams, in the street…"

"Daniel." A voice came from behind.

"You see what I mean?" Daniel shook his head, "she's there."

"Daniel."

That voice. That voice that he'd loved, it was so close; he could almost feel her behind him.

"Daniel."

He turned around slowly as a hand placed itself softly on his shoulder. Those fingers, he knew them, that dainty wrist with the bracelet, he knew that, too. Then those arms, spindly as they were, but strong enough to hold, then, with a deep breath, he saw that face. Her gentle pale skin and rouged cheekbones, dear little nose and those eyes! The very hint of grey with blue flecks.

"Daniel, it's me."

A lump rose in his throat, preventing any sort of speech, bringing with it tears that prickled his own deep green eyes. She smiled and his arms clung to her.

"Lily."

"Daniel…I…"

"It's okay, I'm not going to leave you…not now, not ever."

For a moment they simply stood, not knowing what to do or say, until Lily found her voice and spoke in her soft and gentle way.

"Daniel. There's something I couldn't tell you…I…I…"

"It's okay, Lil, whatever it is, we'll find a way."

"It's why I left. It wasn;t because of the stupid Sing Sing racket…I needed to get away."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Daniel…you've been gone nearly half a year."

"Yeah, and? Lil, if this is about the dress I bought you…"

"Well, it is, and isn't. What I'm trying to say is…oh…" she rushed out of the office, up the stairs and back down carrying a bundle.

"Lil…what the…?"

"Say hello to your son, Daniel."

Daniel dropped the glass and gaped at her. No way could he have abandoned a mother…or had he?

"I'm sorry. It's just, with what happened in Sing Sing, I didn't know if I could trust you, to trust that you would be sensible and honest…do you wanna hold him?"

Lily held out the bundle and Daniel took it, peering in between the blankets at a tiny face and a little set of fingers just poking out from the side.

"My boy." He murmured and the baby opened its eyes, staring up at him with a mixed expression of curiosity and intrigue.

"It's alright, I'm your Daddy."

The baby tensed for a moment and then smiled, looking around at Lily as if to say, this is my dad?

Lily nodded and tucked her finger under the pillow, pulling it straight. Aggie watched in silence, smiling. Her baby brother, Daniel Francis 'Rooster' Hannigan, general con man and criminal, but a father? It was hard to believe he was standing with a small baby in his arms. His son, so that made her Auntie Aggie. She shook her head, she'd never hear the end of it from the kids.

"What've you called him?" Daniel asked.

"Danny." Lily replied, "after you, of course."

"Danny?" Repeated Aggie in disbelief and Lily frowned.

"What's wrong with Danny?"

"I'm not scornin' it, Missy, but do you really want to be calling his name in a few years and get the two of em calling back?"

"His name's Danny." Lily told her firmly, and Aggie relented, allowing Daniel to hand her the baby.

"I guess you'll be needin' this then."

Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he'd bought for Loretta to wear as her disguise. It was a very simple gold band but he was confident that Lily would like it.

"Daniel!" Lily squealed, gasping as he knelt down on one knee.

"Lily St Regis, will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes! I will!" He picked her up and swung her around whilst Rebecca watched through the window. She couldn't tell her now, not whilst she was so happy. No, she would go. It was better unsaid. She picked up her hat and wandered toward the door.

"What about that woman who came in with you?" Lily asked suddenly and they turned around. Rebecca was gone.

"Rebecca!" Daniel called and dashed out into the street, catching a glimpse of Rebecca as she hailed a cab.

"Rebecca! Wait!"

The woman turned and shook her head.

"I can't, I can't do it!" She spluttered, tears rolling down her face. Daniel gripped her wrists.

"Yes you can. Lil's been without a Mother for years. We want to share our wedding with you. Please."

Rebecca turned her head away.

"She's done well enough without me. I'll just…"

"Come on, Rebecca." Daniel escorted her back toward the orphanage where Lily was standing on the doorstep.

"I think there's someone you need to meet, Lil."

Daniel pushed Rebecca gently forward.

"Lil, this is Rebecca Aldonquinn." He paused, "your Mother."

Lily stared at her. Yes, there was a resemblance but why after all these years…

"Hello Lily." Rebecca began nervously, "I don't expect you to remember me."

"I'm just a little shocked, that's all." Lily replied simply, "you left us. Left all of us to fend for ourselves."

"I didn't want to leave you," Rebecca sobbed, "I had no choice. I got involved with some dodgy dealings and felt you were better off without me. So I ran."

Lily nodded, taking it all in.

"Okay. I guess…I did the same to Daniel." She fingered with her engagement ring.

"Congratulations, Lily."

"Thank you…Mother."

Rebecca smiled through her tears and held out her arms to her daughter, who hesitated before allowing the embrace.

"It's okay Mother."

"Lil, let's get married!" Daniel remarked and the two women broke apart.

"What?!"

"Today, with your Mother and my sis as witnesses."

"Can't leave kids on their own," corrected Aggie, "best take the kids too."

"Okay. Lil and I will go downtown and get her a wedding dress and you meet us at the church in an hour."

"You forgetting something?" Asked Aggie, sarcastically, "you can't just turn up to a church with a baby, it don't look good."

"Then pretend he's yours."

"Oh yeah, right, Rooster. You expect me to just wander in with a baby and 200 kids, what does that say about me?"

"That you're a very caring and sentimental person." Daniel replied confidently and held up his hand for a cab.

"Great. I guess you better come back in, Rebecca."

Aggie held open the door as Daniel and Lily drove off in the back of a cab.

They found a suitable dress for Lily in a fashionable clothing store and grabbed a bouquet of flowers from a seller near the church. It seemed so strange, they'd been apart for so long and in one hour they would be husband and wife.

"Are you sure the dress is okay, Lil?" Daniel asked as walked past Macy's.

"Of course it is. It's the one I'll be marrying you in." Lily winked and pressed her fingers against the glass.

"Gee, that's nice." She gestured at a pretty cream bag with a gold handle.

"You want it?" Daniel questioned.

"Course not, it's probably more than a hundred and twenty dollars!" She paused, "a girl can dream, can't she?"

"Some girls can dream, but not my wife." Daniel kissed her cheek, "be back in a second."

He walked through the doors and emerged minutes later carrying a signature Macy's bag with the bag packed in a box inside.

"There you go."

He handed the bag to Lily who squealed and tore open the box excitedly, brandishing the elegant bag from the window display.

"Oh Daniel!" She threw her arms around him, "It's swell!"

"Only the best for my wife." Daniel leant to kiss her but Lily capped her fingers over his mouth.

"Not for another hour, hasty."

"Alright, for my girl then."

Lily discarded the Macy's carrier and swung her new bag on her arm, catching a glimpse of her reflection in every store window as they walked to the church.

"You wait here while I get changed."

"You don't need to do that," Daniel insisted but Lily was adamant.

"Shoo!"


	9. Lorenzo's, Manhattan, June 1934

So Daniel walked through the doors of the church which was a very modest building, unlike Trinity or St Patrick's Cathedral and took a seat on the front pew.

"My son, have you come to pray?" The priest asked him.

"No, sir, I have not. I'm getting married."

"You have a license?"

"Sure." Daniel pulled out the slip of paper.

Meanwhile Lily stood in the middle of Bergdorf Goodman, looking around at all of the wonderful items on display. In just half an hour she would be somebody's wife, and not just anybody. She would be Lily Hannigan, a kept woman with a husband and child. She looked into the glass cases longingly. Part of her wanted to remain free, to be the happy go lucky twenty something with very little to care about, just like all of those Bright Young Things who had fled to America to escape convention.

"Anything I can help you with, ma'am?" asked a shop assistant and Lily shook her head.

"No, thank you."

"If you don't mind me saying so ma'am, you don't look happy?"

Lily shook her head again, determined to blot out her worries.

"I'm fine, thank you. I guess…oh darn…why does everything have to be so damn difficult?"

The shop assistant leaned over the counter.

"You need to talk? There's a dressing room upstairs on the second floor."

"Thanks." She hastily patted her face with a powder puff and hurried upstairs as the assistant had directed. She walked into the dressing room, caught a sight of her reflection holding up the wedding dress and burst into tears.

The shop assistant from downstairs came running and sat her down.

"Okay, so what's the problem, Miss?"

Lily looked up from her lap.

"I can't…I can't do it." She sobbed through her fingers, "I can't go in there…"

"To do what?"

"To get married. I don't know anything about being a wife. I can't just…oh gee…I'm a stupid, stupid girl."

The shop assistant was confused. He often had women crying in the shop, but that was because they were happy. Happy for what? Materialism? Since the Crash of '27 there had been hardly any customers, but in the 20s heyday the shop was filled with eager women cashing whatever they could on the latest fashions and styles. Judging by her clothes, this woman wasn't that well off.

"You're not stupid." He reassured her kindly, "it's natural to feel nervous."

"Really?" Lily murmured.

"Of course, it's a big thing, ya know. Why don't you want to get married, though huh? There must be somethin' stopping you?" He paused, "do you not love this guy who wants to marry you?"

"Of course I do! I love him more than anything, but…I guess…aw gee…you have eyes like his, but softer." Lily gazed into them, "soft eyes you can trust. Who's to say he won't run off and ditch me like some of the other hacks?"

"You have to trust him." He spoke slowly and gently with the ease of a velvet scarf being swept over a mannequin, and his teeth were pearly, glinting under the store lights.

"I don't know if I do." Lily admitted casually, feeling a tugging inside.

"Ma'am, I hope you don't mind me saying this…but if you don't trust him, isn't it better to…"

Lily leaned over, kissing him swiftly before pulling back abruptly.

"I shouldn't…"

"I should go, Ma'am." The shop assistant told her briskly before heading back downstairs, leaving Lily standing, not knowing what to do next. It was all a mass of confusion and emotion. If she really loved Daniel, why had she kissed another man? Why had she done that?

"Wedding day nerves." She reminded herself, stepping into the cubicle and changing into her pretty floral print floor length dress that from this day would be classed as her wedding dress. It was a pinched shoulder affair with sweet capped sleeves leading down to a drop waist which trailed the fine and delicate print all the way to the floor. It was neither fussy nor ridiculous, but it was fashionable. The gentle detailing of the ruffled collar was just enough to add an element of occasion to the dress and Lily heaved a sigh as she walked to the mirror, keeping her eyes closed. When she opened them a tall willowy figure stared back at her. The sweet pattern matched the bouquet she would carry precisely and her fair curls danced about her face, lifting the colour of the dress into a warm buttermilk. Smiling bravely she applied an oval of coral red lipstick and flicked her eyelashes, willing them to stay in place. If she was going to do this, she wanted to look at her best. She tucked a set of plain beads over her head and stood in a pose. Yes. She was ready.

"Ma'am, I just have to say, you look swell." A girl shop assistant had appeared from behind the counter and she stood behind Lily, her hands clasped.

"Thank you." Lily replied softly, picking up her cream bag and the dress carrier and depositing them on the counter.

"I'd like these to be delivered to my address." She instructed, scribbling the details on a slip of paper.

"Yes, of course, Ma'am." The shop assistant looked stunned but did not question it.

"Thank you."

With that she hurried out of Bergdorf's and hailed a cab. There was one more place she needed to see before she became Mrs Hannigan.

"47th and 8th, please."

"Sure."

The cab driver drove off toward downtown, and Lily smiled as she passed by the many places she and Daniel had thieved. It was like being in a different city, where opportunists roamed the streets, but now she had responsibilities. Little Danny would learn at a proper school, where he would flourish and he would get a real job. Daniel would too. They couldn't stay with Aggie, not now they had Danny.

She hardly saw the familiar buildings as she pondered her thoughts, and suddenly the car stopped.

"Here we are, Ma'am. That'll be 7 dollars, 28 cents."

Lily paid him and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Lorenzo's Booksellers, the sign read in feeble lettering. Ignoring the smut covered windows she pressed the door open, hearing the familiar tingle of the bell and walking into the quiet old store.

"You here for the show, Ma'am?" One man asked from behind a tall desk. Lily shook her head.

"Is Lorenzo still here?"

"Sure he is," the man replied in a Bronx accent, "here." He handed Lily a book with a tag and she walked to the serving hatch which concealed the entrance to the speakeasy behind.

"Taking out Winner Take Nothing, Hemingway."

The serving hatch door slid open and a fat Italian man poked his head through the window.

"Lily St Regis, why ain't you a sight for sore eyes! Come in, doll."

He pulled a lever and the wall opened, allowing Lily to descend the staircase behind which led into Lorenzo's bar, where a group of girls in short gold playsuits were dancing on the stage.

"My new _giovane gruppo_." Lorenzo explained, gesturing at them, "so what brings you back here, doll? That crap shooter you took up with turned out to be a…"

"No, nothing like that." Lily walked across the varnished floorboards to the bar, running her fingers along the mahogany counter top.

"It's so good to be back here, I guess I have you to thank."

"You don't have to make gratitude to me, kid. You got yourself a great gig here."

"Now I have a husband and child." Lily explained proudly.

"A kid? Aww, well I'm glad it worked out for you. Is it that schmuck who fleeced me out of $100 bucks?"

"That's him." Lily giggled, patting the seat where she'd first watched Daniel swipe a wallet.

"He was so exciting, dangerous, wild!" She bustled on eagerly, "I needed to see you again, Mr Lorenzo, I just wanted to say, thanks, you know."

"Aww, doll-face, you're too kind. I didn't help you. You did all the hard work. You kept this place in fine order, I just wish my boy did the same."

"Oh yes, of course, how is Mario?"

"I'd like to tell ya, doll, but I ain't heard from him, not since he took off with some kid from the Argentine. I says to him don't get involved in all that political crap and guess what, he takes off with her and I don't see him since. Shame really, she was a nice kid. Loretta."

"I'll keep a look out for him, Mr Lorenzo. I'm sure he'll be home real soon."

"Yea, kid, keep on dreaming." Lorenzo patted her shoulder. "Don't tell me you just come down here to see us, in that dress."

"Well, yes. You helped me, Mr Lorenzo, I want you to take this." She handed him a fifty dollar bill. "I know it's not much, but it's what you told me you started with. I want to return the favour."

Lorenzo laughed in his big booming way and shook his head.

"You're too kind, kid. Now get yourself out of here and go home to that husband of yours."

"Yes, yes, I will." Lily headed for the door, "just one more thing?"

"Yes?"

"If you kiss someone who's not your fiancée on your wedding day, does that mean you don't love the other person?"

"You'll know the answer to that when you close your eyes. If its this guy's face you see, you're meant to be. At least, that's what Rosa says."

Rosa was Lorenzo's wife who he'd brought with him from Italy and she and Lily had been friends since they had first started working together.

"Okay." She closed her eyes and immediately Daniel's face appeared, strolling along arm-in-arm whilst she pushed a pram.

"I know the answer." She told Lorenzo, waving to him as she climbed into a cab and drove away, back to Manhattan, past Bergdorfs and The Plaza Hotel, looking as grand as ever with all its fashionable guests climbing into luxury sedans flocked by crowds of staff.

Then she was back in Hudson Street, where Aggie and Rebecca were sitting in the office.


	10. Mr and Mrs Hannigan, West Village, 1934

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Rebecca asked her as she entered.

Lily nodded. It was hard enough just to contemplate what she had just done, let alone answer that question. Was she ready? It was like asking do you really love him?

"I…" Lily stumbled, clutching at the handbag Daniel had bought her.

"What is it?" Rebecca rushed to her daughter, "what's wrong?"

"I've done something terrible," she muttered, "I can't do it!"

She threw the bag down on the table, sending it hurtling toward Aggie, who caught it with one hand.

"What the heck are you doing?!" She demanded angrily. Lily fell down on the chair and sobbed. How could she have kissed another man on her wedding day?

"I know I haven't been there for you for years, but I'm here now." Rebecca dragged another chair close to her, placing her hand softly on her daughter's shoulder. Lily continued to sob into her arm, determined not to falter in front of Daniel. Yet, how could she contemplate marrying him now? It was just one big mess.

"Uh, the baby's cryin." Aggie exclaimed suddenly held the bundle away from her, wrinkling her nose. It was all it took for Lily to realise that now, with the arrival of little Danny, everything had changed. She would have to marry Daniel, there was no way she could possibly think of being a Mother without a husband. People would stare and whisper. She couldn't bring Danny up like that.

"Sweetheart, you can tell me, I'm not going to judge you." Rebecca persisted and Lily sat up, wiping her eyes with her hands.

"I've done something terrible, I shouldn't have done it, but I got a baby now, I need Daniel."

"Darling, we all make mistakes, it's what you do to put them right that is the difference." Rebecca looked into her daughter's eyes, seeing in them the fear that she herself had felt.

"If this is about being a Mother…I know what it's like to be scared."

"It is," Lily replied, choking slightly, "I want to be a good Mother."

"You are, my darling, and soon you will have a husband."

"Yes, Mother." Lily agreed, standing. "I'm ready."

"Can someone do something with this kid, first?" Aggie queried and, laughing, Lily took the bundle aside to change him.

"You know, what I thought of her before, I don't think so now." Aggie admitted and Rebecca turned to her with an inquisitive expression.

"What did you think of her?" She asked.

"Miss Sticky Fingers was what I called her. She turned up here with my brother and tried lootin' my jewellery casket. I caught her, and got her to give it all back whilst my brother stole my twenny bucks from my purse." She shook her head, chuckling, "ya know, I don't believe in all this romantic stuff, but even I gotta say that those two are good together."

"I can tell Daniel has a past, but it doesn't matter. As long as he loves her and protects her, that's enough for me. I certainly didn't know anything like it."

"Me neither," agreed Aggie with a sigh, "I sometimes wonder if I was too hard on him. Yeah, okay he's been in and out of Sing Sing more times than a jailguard, but he does have a good heart."

"I think so." Rebecca turned around as the door to the office opened, revealing Lily holding baby Danny.

"You're going to sit with Auntie Aggie." She told the small face between the blankets, "you be a good boy."

She handed the bundle to Aggie, who glanced down at the smiling face of her nephew.

"Gee, he looks like Daniel."

"Thanks, Aggie." Lily grinned and Rebecca led her to the door, where a car was waiting outside.

"I thought I was walking to the church?"

"I've borrowed the car from a neighbour," explained Aggie, with a wink. The car was undoubtedly the property of someone very wealthy, with all the silver plating and soft comfortable seats.

"Don't worry, it's not crooked."

Lily nodded anxiously and climbed into the back with Rebecca.

"We'll follow, don't worry." Aggie assured her, and indicated a laundry truck with the words BUNDLES LAUNDRY printed on the sides.

"Alright, thanks."

"Where to, ladies?" Asked the driver.

"Church of the Ascension, please."

"Sure."

The car sped off, Lily clutching her bouquet tightly in her hand. This was it, just a few hours and she would be Mrs Lily Hannigan. The church was a Gothic styled building with a tall tower and beautiful arched windows. As she climbed out of the car, Rebecca offered her purse to the driver.

"What are you doin' Ma'am?" The driver stared at her.

"Paying you, for your services." Rebecca replied, holding out a ten dollar bill.

"I'm a chauffeur for the Warbucks and Aggie's an employee. I ain't gonna take your money."

Although shocked, Rebecca relented and escorted Lily to the doors. It would be a quiet wedding, she thought, just a few witnesses. Then the doors opened and she was greeted by a crowd of heads on both sides, filling every pew. The heads turned as soon as they heard the creaking of the hinges and began to cheer. Lily almost dropped her bouquet; Aggie had invited all of the girls to the wedding. They stood in their rags and tatters whilst she stood in her finery; it was enough to make her want to cry. She gripped the stems of the bouquet tight, her legs seemed to be fixed in a position. She could just about make out Daniel standing at the altar in a brown suit, and another man standing next to him.

"A best man?" Lily murmured.

"Are you ready, my dear?" Rebecca asked, squeezing her daughter's free hand.

"Yes, Mother."

The organ music started up just as Aggie found her seat with baby Danny on her lap, and Lily began to walk down the aisle, Rebecca behind her.

"Oh my," Daniel turned around as Lily approached and she smiled sweetly, handing her bouquet to her Mother who nodded and scuttled to the seat next to Aggie.

"I thought you said a few witnesses?" She whispered.

"Well, if you're going to have a wedding, you might as well do it properly." Daniel winked, "you look swell, Lil. Just swell."

"Thanks." Lily took his hand and the priest began the ceremony. The girls began to fidget halfway through, sliding along the pews in an attempt to push Marnie, who was sitting at the end of the row, off her seat.

Then that tense moment was upon them, and Daniel found himself struggling to keep his concentration.

"If anyone knows of any reason why these two people should not be joined together in matrimony, let him speak now or forever hold his peace."

Lily squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"Then I am delighted to pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."

Smiling, they exchanged a kiss, which merited a huge round of applause from the audience, including the man who had been the ring bearer. Daniel held out his arm to his new wife who slipped her own through his and they began to walk back down the aisle, Lily's ring glistening in the dim light of the room.

"Gee that was long," she heard Pepper grumble, "who wants to play on the piano?!"

"Organ," corrected Duffy knowledgeably, "oh my goodness oh my goodness, who is that?!"

She pointed at Rebecca who was staring at the ring bearer.


	11. The Passenger in the Car, June 1934

"Oh, one more thing, before we leave," Daniel remarked, dragging Rebecca from the pew, "Mr Farquis, allow me to introduce…"

"Uncle Roger?" Rebecca spluttered in disbelief, "can it be you?"

"Rebecca," the man gasped, "our Rebecca!"

For a moment the two people were too stunned to move. Then Roger flung his arms around his niece.

"Oh my girl…my girl….we've been searching for you for years…"

"I know," Rebecca told him, "but I couldn't…I couldn't…"

"I know, I know," Roger pulled back, looking at his niece's face, "it's not been easy for us either. We found Anthony and Lois."

"You found them? Oh goodness…Uncle, please, where are they?"

"They're at the Berwick Hotel, with your Aunt."

"She won't want to see me," Rebecca shook her head, "I guess…you had best meet my daughter."

She gestured at Lily, who blushed.

"This is Lily."

Roger Farquis turned to the young lady he had just watched marry his former employee and held out his hand.

"Congratulations, my dear."

Lily bobbed a curtsy. This man definitely wasn't from New York. He had the manners of a gentleman, the way he spoke and the swiftness of his conversation bore resemblance to that of a royal.

"Thank you sir."

"Not at all. You are part of the family."

"Part of the family?"

"Well, of course," Roger replied, "your Mother is my niece, and before she ran away from her home she had a very prestigious name."

"Oh?" Lily gulped.

"I was Rebecca Aldonquinn." Rebecca admitted gently, "related to the Aldonquinns of Larentford."

"The Aldonquinns of Larentford?"

"That is correct. I forfeited the privileges of the name when I ran away, and became Rebecca Oldengwen."

"Oldengwen," Lily paused for a moment, looking at Daniel, "that was the name I told you about."

Daniel nodded.

"In terms of your name, you are, by birth, Sara Aldonquinn-Farquis, but as I understand from talking to Mr Hannigan here, you changed your name to Lily."

"That is right, sir. After…everything, I needed a name that made me feel as though I belonged, so I chose Lily St Regis, after the hotel."

Roger smiled at the young woman. It couldn't have been easy for his niece to bring up a child on her own, and after Daniel had explained everything to him, it all seemed to make sense. Yes, the young man had falsified information to gain a job at his school, but at the same time, he had been doing it for the good of earning enough money to support his fiancée.

Rebecca shrunk back from the crowd. Her uncle was still angry with her and yet he was fascinated by Sara.

"Mother, why don't you come and join us?"

Lily reached for her Mother's hand and pulled her back into the crowd.

"Girls, I think we'll go outside…" Aggie blew a whistle and the girls climbed over the pews to form two crooked lines.

"Yes Miss Hannigan."

"What do you say, kids?"

"Congratulations Mr and Mrs Hannigan."

"Thank you, girls."

The girls hurried out of the church and gathered on the steps.

"Hey, Missy…take your kid." Aggie picked Danny up and handed him to Lily.

"Who is this?" Asked Roger, confusedly, gesturing at the baby.

"This is…uh…" Daniel frowned at Aggie. Trust her to put us in this situation, he thought.

"Our son." Explained Lily honestly.

If Roger was surprised by this he certainly didn't show it. Things were moving very quickly in these new modern days, and old rules were being relaxed. He had no doubt, however that their intentions were honourable and perhaps they hadn't had enough money to get married, unlike Rebecca, who had all the privileges, but had chosen a simpler life for herself.

"Welcome to the family, young Hannigan." He chucked the baby under the chin. "What is his name?"

"Danny," explained Lily, smiling at her son, "Danny Hannigan."

"Excellent. A good strong name, for a good strong boy. I have no doubt that he will be a wonderful young man someday."

"Thank you, Uncle." Lily replied and a pink tinge appeared on Roger's cheeks.

"Not at all. Where will you and Mr Hannigan be living?"

"We've got an apartment, haven't we, Lil?" Daniel interjected before Lily could speak. He could tell that Roger was about to offer his money to buy them an apartment but if there was one thing he couldn't stand; it was someone threatening his pride.

Lily noticed the signs and squeezed his arm in comfort.

"Daniel, its okay," she smiled, "Uncle, Daniel is quite capable of providing for me."

"I'm sure he is, young lady, I don't doubt that at all. Just to say that you are always welcome at Larent."

"Larent?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know. Larent Academy, my school in New Jersey." Roger explained.

"Thank you, sir." Daniel shook his hand. Married. It was beginning to dawn on him. That insolent and scruffy little boy called Rooster was now a father and husband.

"Look after yourselves, won't you?" He embraced Lily and then turned to Rebecca.

"Are you coming home, my dear?"

Rebecca shuffled uncomfortably. She had dreamt of returning home for years but now that her Uncle was here, she wasn't sure if she wanted to. How would Aunt Jean react when she saw her? All those years of worry and concern…would she even want to see her, the runaway rebel who had supposedly disgraced her name?

"Come, my dear," Roger put an arm around her kindly, "you are a woman now, not the little girl who fled so easily."

"Thank you, Uncle." She walked to Lily. "Oh, my darling, darling daughter, I have never stopped loving you and now that I have found you, I hope that we can build…" she began to cry, "I am just so proud of you, look at you…a mother, a much better mother than I was to you, and you have a lovely husband to help you, which is more than I did. Oh," she sobbed into Lily's shoulder, "please come and visit us."

"We will do." Lily assured her.

"Yes, we will." Agreed Daniel, taking the baby from Lily and holding him against his shoulders. Rebecca kissed her daughter on the cheek and patted Daniel's shoulder before allowing herself to be escorted to the street by Roger. Daniel and Lily quickly followed, with Lily holding the baby. As they stepped out onto the street the girls began to cheer and clap. Lily threw her bouquet and surprisingly, Rebecca caught it.

"Mother!" Lily called to Rebecca and the girls rushed at her, Pepper pinning her to the sidewalk in order to snatch the bouquet.

"Hey! Hey! That's enough!" Lily yelled as Aggie sat back in the car and filed her nails, "AGGIE!"

"What is it, sticky fingers?"

"Agatha, you know that's not me anymore. Can you please control the girls?"

"They're your problem now, remember you signed over."

Lily sighed and tapped loudly on the window.

"Aggie, I'm now married to Daniel, we need time to settle in to married life."

"I think you've done enough of that already." Aggie indicated the baby.

Lily frowned.

"Daniel, if you've planned a Honeymoon for us, we can't go. We're looking after the children."

Daniel hurried to the car.

"Oh Aggie…can't you just help us for once, just while we're on honeymoon?"

"Can it, Rooster, you're not getting away with it this time." A muscle twitched in Daniel's jaw. He wasn't the con man and thief anymore.

"Aggie, I told you, I put it all behind me."

"Yeah, for sure. How do you explain this hussy turnin' up on our doorstep then?"

Unbeknownst to Daniel and Lily, there was another passenger in the front of the car. She turned around and Daniel paled.

"Loretta."


	12. The Guy in the Bar, November 1930

"Hello Daniel. You think I forget. You think you could just leave me in that school and not tell me where you were going?"

Daniel shook his head. This was not what he needed, but he had run from Loretta, so perhaps he did deserve to get the lecture.

"Loretta, this isn't the time to be discussing this."

Loretta slammed her bag onto the sidewalk.

"It's not a good time, huh? It is never a good time with you. You used me!"

"What is she talking about Daniel?" Lily's tone was icy. "Who is this woman?"

"Lily, I can explain," Daniel protested.

"Then explain."

"I…after you left me…I went to New Jersey. I took that job that the paper advertised, but I needed a girl to do it; the secretary said I had to."

"I see," Lily wasn't convinced, "Aggie, take Danny." She handed the baby to her sister in law, "so you thought you could just waltz back to New York when you realised you didn't want to be there anymore?"

"I guess so." Daniel grabbed Lily's arm, "Lily, I wanted to earn enough money to support us, that's all."

"Ha!" Loretta scoffed, "according to Farquis records, you are married to me. I wear a ring." She held out her hand and the diamond glittered, dazzling Lily's eyes.

"You married her? How could you do that, Daniel? How?!"

"I didn't marry her!" Daniel retorted, "she's a girl I met in New Jersey, I just needed some help."

"It's okay, I understand. I do." Lily straightened herself, "I'm going back to the office now, Daniel, and I'm taking Danny to New Jersey with me."

"Lily, please. Please don't do this."

"I can't trust you, Daniel, don't you get that? I can't be hurt like this. You have a son, remember! A son who needs his Daddy around. I can't be expected to just forgive you when you break my heart."

"Lil…"

"Daniel. It's better like this. I'm glad you came, Miss Loretta. I hope you will be very happy together, since my marriage is a sham."

She pulled herself sharply away from Daniel's grip on her arm and climbed into the car.

"Lily, wait!" Daniel called after her but she didn't look back. The girls looked on in shock.

"Lily's gone?" Duffy spoke up, nervously.

"Yeah." Daniel murmured, struggling to fight back the tears, "all of you, just go back to the house, please."

He gave them a scathing glance as he walked back down the street, not daring to look at Loretta, who stood patiently by the lamp-post.

"Daniel…I…I didn't want that to happen."

"Well, it did," he turned around, his shoes scraping against the slate, "I've now lost the one thing that was important to me, all because I met you."

"Daniel," Loretta held out her hand.

"Go, Loretta, just go."

Her lips pursed and she reached for the band of gold, gently sliding it from her finger.

"Here, take it. I know what it is to lose someone. I ran away to New York when I was fifteen, and I met a sweet boy named Mario. Italian and Argentians do not mix, but how I loved him. I wanted him, but he disappeared. He did not meet me as he had promised, and I went to New Jersey. It seems that we flee to New Jersey to seek the dream, not realising that our dream is here."

Daniel had taken a seat on the steps of the church, his frame hunched over his legs. His hat lay carelessly beside him, Loretta's ring next to it.

"You have to fight for that girl." Loretta went on, sitting down next to him, "she loves you."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm not good enough for her. Why did I think I could be anything else but Rooster Hannigan?"

"Rooster?" Loretta smiled, "that is a funny name."

"It's a nickname," Daniel explained, and looked up, "I was a thief and that used to be my code-call."

"I see." Loretta chuckled.

"I guess it is funny." A laugh broke through the lump in his throat, and he nodded, standing up. "I hope you find your guy, even if I don't get my girl."

"You will." Loretta told him, her eyes sincere, "go now, before she leaves."

"Thanks." Daniel hesitated before holding out his hand, "we part as friends."

"Yes. Friends." Loretta agreed, and whistled. A cab drew up immediately.

"Hudson Street Orphanage." Daniel instructed and jumped into the back, waving to Loretta.

"Hasta la vista, Mr Hannigan."

She placed the ring back into her pocket and set off downtown, if there was ever a chance to pursue Mario, it was in his hometown, in a little secret bar behind a bookstore.

"You can't just leave!" The girls protested as Lily sorted through the closet in her bedroom, "who are we gonna talk to?"

"You'll have Mr Hannigan." She folded a blouse into a small square, "he'll see you right."

"It's not fair!" Marnie wailed, "you're our Mommy."

"No, Marnie." Lily knelt down to the little girl's height, pulling her straggly pigtails straight, "I'm just a girl from Jersey City."

Marnie fell into her arms, sobbing.

"We're gonna miss you!"

"I am too." Duffy joined in the embrace.

"And me!" Molly threw herself on the floor.

"Get outta here!" Pepper pushed her way through the throng and sat on the bed.

"I can't be with Mr Hannigan," Lily explained, "I don't trust him."

"But you love him!" July remarked, folding a pair of scarves. Lily unwrapped Marnie's arms from around her and stood up, walking over to the door of the closet next to her own and allowing it to creak open. There were all Daniel's things, carefully arranged with his suits and smart trilby hats. She picked out a cream tie he favoured and held it in her hands, stroking the silkiness of the fabric.

"Rooster Hannigan, you sleaze." She murmured softly, her eyes drifting back to the line of blazers on a crooked rail. They were such a symbol of his personality, sharp collars and striking colours, the man that everyone looked at when he walked into a room, the man that won friends with tales of expensive cars and luxuries, the man…she fell in love with the moment she saw him.

November, 1930.

"_Hey, what does a guy have to do to get a drink in this place? You eatin' or meetin, doll?"_

_Another long shift at Lorenzo's and the schmucks were beginning their nightly round at the clubs on the West side. Just another set of drunks to turf out at eleven, Lily thought to herself and by then, they wouldn't be as chirpy. The drink ran freely as water at the speakeasy and Lorenzo would expect the till to bulge with five dollar bills. She poured another glass and slung it across the counter where the customer caught it in his hand like a baseball._

"_Great shot, kid." The guy next to him complimented, ignoring Lily, who had set to clearing the empty glasses._

"_How's it going, doll?" Lorenzo hissed from the back._

"_Swell thanks." Lily replied with a smile._

"_Marvellisimo. Help yourself to a glass, kid."_

_Lily selected her favourite ginger ale beverage and took a few sips, staring up at the guy who had just walked in. Expertly clothed from head to toe in a sharp brown suit and checked tie, the guy had slung his trenchcoat over one arm and his black and white shoes were now tapping their way down the steps to a stool at the bar. He placed the coat on the counter and folded a handkerchief, tucking it into his chest pocket. Then he drew out a cigarette case, removed a coin and dropped it on the floor behind, making it look like an accident._

"_Gee, kid, you don't wanna be dropping cents like that." The man grumbled from next to him, fishing the coin from the floor._

_As he did so, the guy in the brown suit swiped what seemed to be a small package from the man's pocket. Lily stared at him. Had he really just done what she thought he'd done?_

_The guy in the brown suit then shoved the wallet in his trenchcoat pocket and turned back to the bar as the other man handed him the coin._

"_Here ya are, kid."_

"_Gee, thanks, best not to lose a dime."_

"_Not in this day, no." Agreed the man, looking at his watch, "aw gee, I gotta get back. Hey, doll!" he called to Lily, stirring her from her thoughts, "take one for yourself." He flipped a dime into the jar._

"_Thanks, Howdy!"_

_Howdy then made a swift exit, leaving the guy in the brown suit alone at the counter. He lit a cigarette and took out the package from his coat. It was a wallet._

"_Schmuck." Lily heard him murmur, "can I get a Bronx on the rocks?"_

"_I saw you." She heard herself say in response, "you just took that man's wallet."_

"_Ooh, I'm in trouble." The guy mocked, smiling in a crooked grin, "I got framed by a dame."_

_Usually she would have been horrified at his actions, but there was something about his suave manner that set her heart racing. This guy had a history of criminal activity, she had no doubt, yet he didn't seem like one of those mobsters that preyed the streets._

"_You got a name, doll?" He asked in a warm tone and Lily leant against the counter, pretending to wipe it._

"_Lily." _

"_Great to meet you, Miss Lily. I guess I can't tell ya my name now, cos I guess you're gonna shop me straight to the cops, aren't ya?" He winked and Lily almost dropped the rag on the floor._

"_I just think you should choose your victims more carefully. He doesn't have much to speak of anyway."_

"_Then he's not gonna miss this, is he?" He took another drag of his cigarette and flipped open the wallet, pocketing the cash into the flap in his coat._

"_I guess not. Look…give me the wallet, you don't need it."_

"_True, but I do need this." He tossed the wallet aside and pulled out several members cards._

_Lily folded the wallet and tucked it under the counter; she'd give it back to its rightful owner when he returned._

"_Is this your job, then? Flipping wallets?" She asked him coldly._

"_I don't have a job." He replied._

"_Why does that not surprise me?"_

"_Because I'm a good liar. I guess you could call me an 'opportunist'."_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Anyway, what's a nice girl like you workin' in a crummy dump like this?"_

"_It's a job, and I work for good people." Lily told him curtly, "Mr Lorenzo's a good employer."_

"_Sure he is." The guy tipped his cigarette into the tray, "so, Lily. Tell me, what do you wanna do?"_

"_I want to be a singer, but the show's overcrowded anyhow."_

_Daniel turned to the dancing girls on the stage. They looked like a bunch of painted dolls in a puppet show. _

"_They ain't got talent."_

"_But they're on the stage, I'm behind the bar."_

"_Where is this Lorenzo guy?" He stood up and swung his coat over his arm._

"_He's in the back."_

"_Get him for me."_

"_What? No!" Lily protested, "don't tell him what I said…"_

_He shrugged and made his way around to the back._

"_Mr Lorenzo, can I speak with you?" He put on a very convincing Californian accent._

"_Who wants to know?"_

"_Sir, I'm Corey Hart from Paramount Studios, California. I've just been watching your show."_

"_Oh yeah?" The Italian man looked at him suspiciously._

"_Yes, and I gotta say, those dames aren't what you would call…screen material."_

"_Oh, is that so?"_

"_Absolutely. This kid here on the other hand," he indicated Lily, who blushed, "she's perfect. I mean, just look at her, face made for the screen. You don't see faces like that every day, believe me."_

"_Okay, what do you want?"_

"_I want you to put her in the show. She needs some dance training, ya know, get her in one of those jazz numbers, get her at the centre, get her to sing. If she does that she'll be ready for Hollywood in just a few months."_

"_Right. Okay, I'll do that."_

"_Swell, I can tell ya, that girl's gonna be a star."_

"_Well, ya know, I wouldn't wanna stop her. She is a good girl."_

"_Oh, don't you worry, sir. Your punters'll be flying through that door once she's in the show!" He paused, "I'm gonna need to take a fee now that she's on my books. $100 bucks should do it!"_

"_You want me to give you hundred bucks for a finder's fee?"_

"_I tell ya what. You seem like a nice guy, make it $75 and we'll call it quits, I'll even throw in an extra $15 for good measure."_

"_Well…I guess…" he looked at Lily, "okay, Mr Hart, you have a deal."_

"_Oh, you couldn't lend me a quarter for the tab, could you?"_

"_Sure kid." He handed over the money and 'Corey' put it neatly in his pocket. _

_Lorenzo was completely bowled over by what the young man had just said, but being of limited knowledge about anywhere outside New York, he thought it best to give him the benefit of the doubt._

"_Hey, Lily, clean up this bar and get yourself round to the dressing room, Betty, you find her a costume!" He instructed one of the dancers on the stage who nodded._

"_Why, thank you sir." Lily replied, hardly daring to believe it._

"_This young man is from Paramount, he says you have a screen face, so I am to teach you how to dance and sing."_

_Lily chuckled._

"_Not me, personally, but the girls will."_

"_Yes, Mr Lorenzo."_

"_In fact, just get out there, kid. Go on, get up on that stage, do one of those numbers you sing to yourself."_

"_I'm not…" Daniel caught her glance and winked. _

"_Yes, okay."_

_She wound her way around the bar and stepped up onto the stage and began the song, staring straight at the guy in the brown suit. She didn't care that he was a criminal, he was generous and kind._

_When the song had finished she stepped down from the stage and he was still there at the bar._

"_That was swell, doll, just swell." Lorenzo told her, "Betty, change the poster on the door. Lily St Regis Performing Live at Lorenzo's Bar, New York."_

_Lily blushed and hunched her shoulders._

"_Hey, don't be bashful, it's okay. Mr Lorenzo, is it okay if I take my new protégé to a restaurant?"_

"_Absolutely, you kids go and enjoy yourselves, you earned it."_

_Lily pecked Lorenzo's cheek._

"_You're a darling." She told him, before rushing upstairs with her new friend and walking slowly out onto the street._

"_Thanks for what you did for me in there."_

"_Ah, it was nothin'. I meant what I said, though. You shouldn't be servin' at a bar. You've got a beautiful face that needs to be seen."_

"_Oh yeah, in the newspapers as a protégé of Mr Hart."_

"_That's not my name," he chuckled, "it's Rooster, Rooster Hannigan."_

"_Rooster?" _

"_It's a nickname, but as I said earlier, I daren't tell you my real name."_

"_I'm not going to tell the cops."_

"_I know you're not. You're not a grass."_

"_No. I'm not." He pulled her closer, "can we do this again?"_

"_Gee, I don't know, it's too quick."_

"_Okay. I'll be at Lorenzo's soon." He kissed her cheek, "until then, Miss Lily."_

_He hailed a cab and held open the door, handing the driver a ten dollar bill._

"_Take this young lady to her residences."_

"_On my watch, sir." The driver agreed as Lily clambered into the back. She watched from the window as he waved to her, smiling._

"Hey!" Pepper struck her with a pillow, "we'se talking to you."

Lily turned around and stared at the case open on the bed. She couldn't deprive Danny of his father when all of these kids were desperate to know what it was to have a Mother and Father. They should be in school, filling their minds with information that would help them to rebuild America after the Depression. Instead they were slaving away at household chores, and what for? To have Aggie lecture them for not being thorough enough? That was no way to be.

She turned around slowly, walked to the bed and closed the case.

"I've decided to stay."

The girls cheered, Marnie and Molly jumping up and down on the bare boards.

"Hey, hey, careful! You'll go through the floor." She reprimanded them, "Pepper, put that bracelet back in the case, please."

"Aw, shucks." Pepper grumbled as she returned the bracelet, "you've forgiven him, then?"

"I don't have much choice. I can't deprive my baby of his father. It's not right." She indicated the crib next to the bed.

"Nah, guess not."

The girls left Lily to contemplate.

"Maybe far away…or maybe real nearby, he may be pouring a coffee…" she sang at Danny, who waved his little fists in the air.

"You'll be there straightening my tie." She heard a voice sing in response from behind her, and turned around gently.

"Daniel." She murmured, leaning against the bed post.

"I can go if you want me to. You just have to say the word."

"I don't want you to go, Daniel." Lily began to sob, "you mean everything to me. I didn't mean what I said, it's just…the thought of someone trying to steal you away…"

"Aw, Lil, you know my heart will only ever belong to one girl."

"Oh yeah?" Lily sniffed, smiling, "which one's that, then?"

"A blonde broad by the name of Lily." Daniel mocked, playing along.

"Gee, there ain't no one here by that name."

"No?" Daniel leant on the bed.

"No." She grinned, flicking her scarf in his face. "Just a woman madly in love with a con man, I believe it was Phyllis the Filcher and Danny the Dip at one stage?"

"It sure was."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Lily kissed him, trying her best to ignore the contorted faces pressed against the glass.

"Hey," Daniel shooed them with his hand, "scram!"

"Kissy kissy! He's got a missy!" The girls jeered, laughing.

Daniel swung himself from the bed and with a smile, pulled down the blinds.

"Bit of privacy."

"We're not doing anything wrong, Daniel." Lily reminded him.

"Aw, but the kids…"

"Get used to it, Mr Hannigan. You're a father now, I hope you don't expect me to be running around after you."

"Nah, only on special occasions." He winked and shook his head, tugging at the blind.

"I think it's time we introduced Danny to his companions." Lily suggested, picking the baby up from the crib and holding him against her shoulder.

"You're not serious about running the orphanage with a baby in the house, are ya?" Daniel's eyes widened like saucers.

"Of course, Daniel. We don't need a little apartment, we've got four floors, remember? With a little care and attention this could make a lovely home."

"Oh yeah?" Daniel scoffed, his arm resting on the doorframe, "there's too much to do."

"If we all muck in we could get it spruced up in no time."

"Yeah, okay. Challenge accepted." He held the door open for Lily, "time to meet Master Danny Hannigan."

"Junior," corrected Lily, "Danny Junior."

"Even better."

They walked downstairs to the front room which until recently had served as a dining and teaching area. Aggie sat in a chair, hunched over with a bottle and glass propped on the arm.

"Aw sis, you're not still doing that, are ya?" He snatched the bottle and poured the contents into the sink. Aggie didn't move.

"I said, sis…!"

Aggie startled to attention.

"No officer, I swear, I never...Rooster! What the heck are you doin'!"

"Relax, sis, we wanted to introduce you all to our son, Danny Junior." The girls gathered around Lily, eagerly pointing at the baby, who stared around at all of them with striking green eyes.

"He's so cute, Miss!" Remarked Duffy, "can we call you Mother now?"

"Yeah, can we call you Mother?"

"Yeah, Mother!"

"Okay, okay," Lily held up her hand and turned to Daniel, "what do you think?"

"You do realise, if we do this, we're gonna have to learn 250 names, all individual, and correct?"

"All right then. You can call me Mother, and you can call him," she indicated Daniel with her head, "whatever you want."

"I vote Pops." Suggested Molly and the girls nodded.

"Not Pops," Daniel shook his head, "do what you normally do, call me Roosty."

"Roosty?" Aggie began to laugh, "aw, Rooster, you little sweetie, fulla applesauce."

Daniel gave her a look and Aggie pursed her lips, struggling not to respond. It was hard to believe that in just seven months he had gone from jailbird hack to loving husband and father and she had gone from con moll to wife and Mother to a gorgeous little baby, and now 250 kids.

"Aggie. Are you not going back to the Warbucks?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, ya know, I figured easy street isn't all it's cracked up to be. Nothing but cars, parties and interesting visits from government people. Hardly easy street. Plus I have to arrange all the damn visits, now that he's got that Farrell on his arm."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Aggie. You can stay."

"Darn right, missy. This is my annex."

"Was," corrected Daniel, "you signed it over, remember?"

"I don't remember that."

"Probably because you had a bottle of best at the time." Lily murmured, adjusting Danny Junior against her shoulder. He began to cry, "no, no, no sweetie, it's alright, Mommy's here."

"Wrap it up, missy. What's the sitch, then, my dearest baby brother? You turfin' me out?"

"No. We're not turfin' you out. Aggie, we got a kid now, can't you just come back and work here whilst we find a nice place?"

"In the suburbs? With a white picket fence and mailbox?"

"Yeah."

"All right, all right. You got it, Rooster."

"It's Daniel, sis. I don't wanna be marked with that name anymore."

"You got it." She patted his cheek, "so this little whippersnapper makes me Auntie Aggie, does he?"

"That's right. Danny Junior, the newest addition to the Hannigan clan." Daniel took the baby from Lily's arms and held him out for Aggie to see.

"Yeah, he's a Hannigan all right."

Lily giggled.

"You know, I think I realise now why people struggle leaving their kids on doorsteps." Aggie continued as Daniel handed him to her, "I can't believe what we did to that little kid, much as I hated her then, I sure don't hate her now."

"You mean Annie?" Asked Lily.

"Yeah. I mean she wasn't to blame for being an orphan, heck no one can help that. She just…I guess she was too optimistic, too happy. He," pointing at Daniel, "and I didn't know anything about happiness. All we saw was a drunk Mother who tried her best by stealing."

Lily shuffled uncomfortably. She had no doubt from meeting Rebecca that her experiences had been very similar. When she was out working, she and her siblings should have been in school.

"We should go and visit The Berwick Hotel." She remarked suddenly, recalling her brother and sister, "it seems the right thing to do. Don't you think, Daniel?"

"I dunno, Lil. It'll be quite a shock for them…"

"It was a shock for me when I met my mother a few hours ago, I don't want them to think I don't care."

"No one thinks that, Lil. What are you gonna say? 'I'm your sister?'"

"I suppose. I want Danny to feel that he has a good family."

Daniel put his arm around her.

"Okay, we'll go to The Berwick. How far is it, sis, do you know?"

"Heck, no. I don't go uptown."

"Can't you ask Big Bucks?"

"Warbucks won't know he gets the chauffeur to do all that. Hey, wait a second…" Aggie telephoned the Warbucks residence.

"The Warbucks Residence, Drake speaking."

"Drake! You couldn't do me a favour, could ya?"

"Depends on what it entails, Miss Hannigan."

"I need Calshall's assistance. Need some help plotting out where The Berwick Hotel is."

"That's not too far from here. It's by the Park."

"Excellent. Thank you." She replaced the receiver. "It's up by the Park."

"Thanks Aggie." Daniel tapped his sister on the back.

"The Berwick Hotel," Lily murmured, "It sounds so grand."

"Yeah, it does. That doesn't mean it's too good for the likes of us, though, Lil." His tone was firm but in reality, Daniel was very nervous. All the time he had been at Larent, looking at the portrait of the girl who looked so much like his Lily, only to find that it was her mother. Now it seemed a world away, a mere memory, and yet something tugged at his heart. It wasn't Loretta, but the calmness and quaint way of life. That was what he wanted for Lily and Danny, not the tough streets of New York. Even so, he was secretly frightened of introducing Lily at the Berwick Hotel. Would she be blinded by the bright and glamorous world of her family? If so, what chance did he have of keeping her love? She deserved someone better and the Aldonquinns could offer that tenfold.

"Lil," he began awkwardly, "these people, you know they're not like us, don't you?"

"Daniel," Lily smiled sweetly, "I know you're not fond of the higher classes, we spent a lot of time robbing them as I recall."

"With elegance." Daniel added.

"Maybe so, but perhaps they'll be able to show us and teach us about their way of life."

"I suppose."

"Come on, Mr Hannigan," Lily put her arm around him, "time to get you smartened up."

She led Daniel to the closet where she had fixed the rail so that all of his suits were now lined in a straight row of colours.

"Which one?"

Daniel unhooked a tweed suit from the set and held it up.

"I think so too." Lily agreed, and left the room.


	13. Reunion at The Berwick Hotel, June 1934

As soon as they were ready, Daniel hailed a cab and they travelled to The Berwick Hotel. It was another Gothic structure with turrets and a magnificent portico rising high above the street, although nowhere near as tall as The Plaza.

The taxi drew up level with the marble that formed the entrance to the hotel and the Hannigans alighted. They were just another family arriving amongst a queue of taxis. Lily adjusted Danny against her shoulder and with Daniel holding her other hand, they walked into the lobby.

"Madame," a porter tipped his hat to Lily, "do you have any luggage with you?"

"No," replied Daniel, "we're here for a meeting." He walked up to the counter where a smartly dressed concierge stood and tapped on the bell.

"Yes, sir, how can I help you?"

"We'd like to see Mr Roger Farquis."

"Ah yes, you must be Mr Farquis' guests."

"That's right."

"I'll just get a call to him."

He picked up the telephone and spun the dial.

"Mr Farquis, yes, this is the concierge speaking, sir…your guests have arrived for you, sir. Indeed, sir. Yes. Thank you for your time, sir."

He replaced the receiver.

"The Sirren Suite, number 471. 4th floor."

"Thank you." Lily nudged Daniel as he attempted to walk away.

"Tip." She hissed and Daniel sighed, pulling a dollar from his pocket.

"Much appreciated, sir." The concierge called to them as they were escorted to the elevator.

"Which floor, sir?" Asked the bellhop.

"4th please." Lily told him and the grates closed.

A few minutes later they stepped out onto the grandeur of the fourth floor and there stood Roger, waiting for them in a fine tailored pinstripe suit.

"It's wonderful to have you here, Lily, I'm so pleased you decided to come. Right this way." He ushered them along the corridor to a panelled door, opening it into a luxurious scene of frills and fripperies.

"Everyone, this is Mr and Mrs Hannigan."

A set of faces turned around from their various positions and smiled, approaching the family.

Lily almost dropped Danny in shock. These were her relatives, the family she hadn't known in all those years as a child and now, they were part of Danny's heritage as much as hers.

"Mrs Hannigan," a plump woman remarked and Daniel shook his head, recognising her as Jean Farquis, "a pleasure."

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I don't know anyone here."

"That's quite alright, Mrs Hannigan, these are your cousins and siblings. Most of them are currently resident here in New York, we have arranged this gathering so that you may be introduced formally into the family."

"Formoyally?" Daniel's thick Brooklyn accent rang through, "did you just say 'formoyally'?"

"FormALLy," corrected Jean crisply, "and yes, Mrs Hannigan here is a true lady of Larent. If you would care to step aside whilst I make the introduction, it would be much appreciated."

Lily stared at her Aunt.

"No. Daniel stays with me."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but that is not acceptable."

"It is by me."

Jean glared at Daniel before ushering Lily away to greet the other relatives.

"Everyone, your attention please!" She trilled. "It is my pleasure to introduce Miss Sara Laine Aldonquinn."

"Lily Hannigan." Corrected Lily promptly, and held out Danny, "and this is Danny Ralph Hannigan."

Daniel burst out laughing behind her.

"What is so amusing, Mr Hannigan?" Demanded Jean crossly.

"Ralph…after…" he narrowed his eyes at Lily, smiling, "you naughty broad."

"Ssh, Daniel." Lily shook her head, "excuse my husband, it's a private joke."

"Indeed." Jean turned Lily around to face the group, "as I was saying, this is the newly discovered lost daughter of Rebecca Aldonquinn."

Two younger members of the clan came forward, looking at Lily strangely.

"Sara?" Asked the girl, who had the same slim frame and blue eyes, "you remember me?"

"Lois?"

"and me?" The young man stepped forward. He was built like Roger, with a square jaw and bright eyes.

"Gee, I can't believe it!" Lily embraced her brother and sister, "ooh, we're squashing the little man here." Anthony chucked Danny under the chin with his finger. The little boy grinned, pleased to see some new faces.

Meanwhile Daniel watched them from the door. It was just as he had feared. The joyous reunion, Danny worshipped and adored by his new relatives and he would just have to disappear, to blend into the background whilst Lily enjoyed the privileges her class provided.

There was nothing for it. Nowhere to run to or from. Aggie could cope with the orphanage, Lily had her family and he, who did he have?

A small hand tugged at his trouser leg and he looked down.

"Uncle." The toddler murmured in declaration and Daniel knelt down to her height.

"Who are you then?"

"Ellie!" Lois swept her up, "what did I tell you about disturbing people?"

"Sowwy."

"It's okay, I don't mind."

"You must be Lily's husband." Lois shook his hand, "I'm Lois, her sister."

"Good to meet you, Miss Lois. So this is your kid?"

"This is Ellie." Lois propped Ellie against her hip, "technically speaking, she's your niece."

"My niece, huh? I've never had a proper family like this."

"Here," Lois handed Ellie to Daniel, "hold her."

Lily turned around at that moment and saw the sweet scene. It was just like watching herself with Daniel.

"Lily, let me introduce you to Ellie," Lois came running at her and tugged her sleeve, "come on!"

The young mother pulled Lily next to Daniel and signalled to a man with a large camera.

"Smile!"

The picture snapped, the group dispersed.

"I don't like this, Daniel." Lily muttered, "I want to go."

"Alright, sweetheart. Let's go. What about your brother and sister?"

"I want to keep in contact with them."

"Okay, let's go before they see us!"

Daniel grabbed the door and Lily swiped a photo from the side table, dashing down the corridor to the elevator.

"WAIT!" He heard Roger call, "MR HANNIGAN!"

Daniel ground to a halt.

"What is it? Lily doesn't feel comfortable here."

"I know, it's difficult, but give it time and you'll adjust."

"No." Lily put her hand against Roger's face.

"I'm sorry Uncle. I can't be the debutante society girl you want me to be, the one they expect. I'm better off here, surrounded by my husband, my son and my home. You see, my home is New York. New Jersey will always seem second best and I can't be it's child. I grew up here, in the slums. All I've known is criminality and breaking the rules. I love my home and I'm not going to sacrifice it for anything."

"I understand." Roger kissed his niece's head, "I have seen your husband and I think you make a fine family. Perhaps someday you might bring young Danny Junior to us in New Jersey."

"Of course."

"Then goodbye, my dear."

Roger watched sadly as the young woman walked away, her arm through her husband's, the very top of Danny Junior's head resting against her shoulder.

Daniel pressed the button for the elevator and as they poised to get in, the doors opened revealing Rebecca in a floaty cocktail dress and pearls. She looked every bit the society daughter, the image of how Lily would look in a few years.

"You're leaving?" She gasped.

"Yes, Mother. I'm sorry. I can't be the girl they want me to be."

"I know exactly what you mean. Don't worry, my girl."

"I saw Anthony and Lois. I'd like to write to them, if I may?"

"We're not cutting you off just because you don't want to be in the family, Lily. Of course you may write to them. Here." She opened her purse and pulled out a little notebook.

"I can't take this, Mother."

"It's a list of their addresses, darling." She paused, tearing out a page, "I know Anthony and Lois by heart."

"Thank you, Mother." Lily hugged her, "We'll bring Danny to see you."

"Yes," Rebecca choked, struggling to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes, "I must go back to the room." She pulled away and hurried back down the corridor, leaving Daniel and Lily dazed and confused.

"Daniel," Lily began, "do you think what we're doing is right?"

"Lil, we don't belong with this crowd. We're not from their stock. We play a different game. We work for what we get, it ain't given to us on a silver platter."

"But they're my family. I can't just shut them out."

"It's what you want, Lily. You have to decide."

"Okay." They stepped into the elevator, saying nothing until the doors opened to the lobby. Suddenly Lily clutched at Daniel's arm. There, standing at the counter was Warbucks, his former secretary and a bright flash of red told Lily that Annie was there too.

"What are we gonna do?" She asked Daniel desperately.

"Lily, we did our time. Let's just face them."


	14. Return of The Mudges, June 1934

"Are you kidding? Rooster, you're not serious?"

Daniel shook Lily's arm away.

"You called me Rooster. I'm still obviously the con man in your eyes." He replied scathingly.

"No, really, Daniel, it was just a slip of the tongue."

"Oh really? After what I've done for you!"

"Don't make a scene, please." Lily begged and Warbucks looked over.

"Hey!"

Lily turned away, banging her fist against the elevator button panel.

"Lily! Stop it!" Daniel forced her arm back, "LILY!"

"It's no use, Daniel. Why can't I get this right?"

She began to cry, prompting Danny Junior to recognise his mother's distress and do the same.

"I'm sorry, Lily, I shouldn't have said…heck."

Warbucks was standing next to them.

"Lily, come on," Daniel put his arm around her, "let's go."

"But you were right. We can't hide from them. It's not fair."

"Then that's what we'll do."

Daniel strolled up to the counter where Grace and Annie were standing and tapped on the bell.

"Can you call a cab for my wife, please?" He asked pointedly. Grace's eyes widened when she saw his face and pushed Annie back instinctively.

"Of course sir, let me just serve this lady." The concierge responded, handing a form to Grace.

"No, it's alright. We'll wait."

"As you wish." The concierge whipped out a fresh form and handed it to Daniel, "a cab for you, sir."

"That's right."

Grace continued to stare nervously at the floor all the time Daniel was filling out the form and when he had finished she took a swift glance at him before looking away. Yes, it was him. The man who had kidnapped Annie!

"What are you doing?" Lily demanded, following Grace's gaze.

"I…"

"Lily, don't." Lily felt Daniel's hand on her arm.

"No, Daniel, I won't have this. We've done our time, there's no need to hide anymore."

"I wasn't looking at you," gabbled Grace, "my husband is over there by the elevator."

She gestured vaguely, doing her best to conceal Annie behind her back.

"Oh, we know." Lily replied, "I don't really care what you think about us, but I won't have you making us into villains."

She propped Danny onto her other hip.

"You see, we've made a family. Family means taking care of each other. Do you think that we would still commit a crime in front of our child?"

"No."

"We have no interest in your affairs. Therefore please, should we meet again, don't act like you are intimidated by us. Daniel is earning a decent wage; we have a child to support. Things are different now."

"I understand." Grace relaxed her grip on Annie's hand and to her surprise, the little girl, now a teenager in a smart and modern dress and coat, stepped in front of her.

"Gee, I'll say things have changed. You sure don't look like the Mudges I saw a few years ago." She still had the same optimistic tone to her voice.

"And you don't look like the same scrawny little girl we met at the Mansion." Lily smiled reassuringly, "we can go if you want us to."

"I'm okay with it if Mom is." She indicated Grace, "what do you say, Mom?"

"I don't think your Father will like it?" Grace admitted, "do you feel comfortable with these people, Annie? After what they did?"

"I guess they were desperate. I sure was desperate enough to run away from the orphanage and Miss Hannigan." She paused, "hey, it's you too, isn't it?" She turned to Daniel.

Lily chuckled, looking up at Daniel.

"Desperation makes us do bad things." Annie continued, "I get it. Which is why I want to say, I forgive you."

"You forgive us?" Lily stared at her.

"Yea, as you say, you paid for the crime, why should we hold that against you?"

Grace put her hands on Annie's shoulders.

"I think that's enough for one day, Annie. Your father will be getting worried."

"I guess." She held out her own hand, removing the pearly white glove on it, "I hope everything comes right for you, Ma'am."

Grace picked up her bag and ushered Annie toward the elevator. As they approached, Annie stopped and turned around.

"You know, I don't even know your names, just that you're Miss Hannigan's brother and his girlfriend."

"I'm Lily," replied Lily honestly, trying to ignore Daniel's stunned look, "this is Daniel."

"It's swell to meet you, properly. Gee, your baby sure is sweet."

"This is Danny Junior." Lily explained.

"I'd like a brother or sister. I always wanted one, even when I was at the orphanage. I used to see the kids running around the sidewalks outside and I'd think, I just want to belong."

"I know what that's like." Lily nodded and just for a moment, Annie recognised why she had seemed so offish when she had been introduced as her Mother. She had the natural maternal instinct, it was true, but she had a tougher personality than originally thought.

"Come along, Annie." Grace beckoned her to the elevator.

"I guess I've gotta go. Did you hear, I'm gonna be performing in Times Square for the 4th July parade! I'm doing a dance!"

"Sounds wonderful," Lily agreed, "we'll try and come."

"Please do." The doors closed on the girl and her new Mother, the former secretary to Warbucks and the Mansion.

"Well, that was something, wasn't it?" Lily nudged Daniel who had been staring awestruck at the row of elevators for the past five minutes.

"I need a brandy." Daniel announced and strode to the bar, stealing a drink in a beaker from an abandoned glass on the counter.

"I can't believe that kid. She forgave us?" He shook his head vigorously.

"It's true."

Lily placed Danny Junior on the counter and kissed Daniel.

"I'm proud of you, Daniel Hannigan."

"Thanks, Lil. You're one dame I wouldn't wanna mess with. I thought you were gonna clout her."

"No, Daniel. We have a son to show the right way to be."

"You're right. I can't believe that kid, though."

"You can't believe that kid because of what we tried to do?"

"No, I can't believe that she thinks we're worth forgiving."

"Gee, Daniel, it helps to get some approval." She checked the fine mantel clock, "we'd best get on back to the orphanage before Aggie thinks we've abandoned her again."

"Who says we won't?" Daniel winked at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I've had our stuff brought here, so, Mrs Hannigan. We can go anywhere you like. Name your destination."

"I choose…New York City."

"Really, Lil?"

"Yes, Daniel. I meant what I said to Uncle Roger. I can't imagine being anywhere but New York City."

"You don't want the house in Connecticut with a porch and running water?"

Lily laughed.

"No Daniel. This is where I belong. With you, and our little baby boy. Our Danny Junior."

"Alright, Lil. Let's go home."

"Back to Hudson Street?" Lily kissed Danny Junior's head, looking at Daniel expectantly.

"Back to Hudson Street."

They linked arms and wandered out onto the street, just another family amongst thousands, making their mark on New York.


	15. The Girl at the Station, June 1934

Loretta walked into the dingy shop and blew lightly on the counter, sending a cloud of dust into the darkness. It was still there. She ran her fingers along the edge, feeling the engraving carved into the wood. It was delicate and charming, exactly like Mario.

"Hey, doll, what'cha doin?" Asked a man, sticking his head through the hole in the wall.

"Mercy!" Cried Loretta, "Signor Lorenzo!"

"It can't be Loretta?"

"You can be sure it is, signor. I have come to see Mario. Is he here?"

"No, signorita Loretta, he is not. I thought he was with you, in the Argentine?"

"We were thrown out."

"Ah I see. You thought he might come back?"

"Signor, if you see him, tell him Loretta will wait."

"Yes, I will."

Loretta smiled and walked briskly back to the station. As she queued for the ticket booth, she noticed a young man hauling cases onto a trolley and her heart began to thump. The subtle square of his face and his typically Italian eyes, he looked like Mario.

"Mario!" She called out and the man jerked up, looking around.

Loretta gasped. It was him. Her Mario!

"Mario!" She dashed through the crowd, abandoning her case at the booth. She didn't care, what did materials matter when her lost love was there!

"MARIO!"

The young man, who was dragging a trolley of cases toward a train on the platform suddenly stopped, took off his hat and turned around to face Loretta.

At first he didn't see her, there were far too many people cramming themselves onto the train, but as they began to clear, a silhouette appeared, a silhouette he knew well, but had been forced to leave.

"Mario?" Loretta began to choke. Was it him? Was the thought that it could be him clouding her mind when she looked at passers by?

"Loretta!" The boy suddenly came running toward her and scooped her up in his arms, whirling her around.

"Mario!" Loretta clung to him. Never again would they be parted.

"My bella signora!" He kissed her passionately, "I love you."

"I love you too, my Mario." Loretta nuzzled her nose against his, "let us see your father. He is worried for you. He thinks you are in the Argentine."

"There's so much to say, Loretta, I can't go home now. I didn't want to tell padre, he doesn't deserve it." He pulled away from her, his face darkened.

"What did you do, Mario?"

"I stole his money."

"No, no, Mario." Loretta flicked her hand, "that isn't you."

"I had to, Lor. I didn't have much choice. I needed to eat, needed to sleep…"

"To steal from your father is a costly thing."

"I know that, Lor." He beckoned her to a bench in the middle of the platform. "God, Lor, you're still beautiful."

"Thank you, Mario. Do not try to change the subject." Loretta told him tartly, "you shall come back to the house and tell your father. He misses you."

"I can't do that. I can't."

Loretta looked at his shaking hands and took them in her own, something had definitely changed in the calm and responsible boy she had known. He seemed harder, somehow, more cynical of the world. Something must have made him steal from his father, the old Mario would never have considered it.

"Mario, you must tell me what you did, and why."

"Heck, Lor, I can't. You'd be ashamed of me." He shot a quick glance at his boss, a tall man in full station uniform, "I'll just say that I got into some crap involving some gamblers."

"You gambled?"

"No, Lor. I worked as a rigger."

"Rigger?" Loretta's face was taut with innocence, "what is a rigger?"

"Someone who rigs tables," Mario explained, "prevents people from winning."

"Oh." A sense of realisation swept over her face, "you rig tables and you get caught."

"That's right. I had to pay 'em back out of my own pocket. I didn't want to steal from Pa, but they'd kill me."

"Oh Mario!" Loretta fell into his arms, sobbing, "you brave brave boy."

"I'm not brave. Gutsy helped me out."

"Gutsy?"

"Yes, Lance Gregory Carter."

"He is a gangster?"

"No, Lor. He's a businessman."

"Hmm. I know businessmen. Grew up in New York, did he?"

"No, New Jersey actually. Was quite a cue in his hometown. I tell ya, he's got a girl for every day of the week."

"You've got just the one." Loretta replied pointedly and Mario nodded.

"She's the only girl for me."

"We need to see your father. He needs to know you are here."

"Okay, Lor. You win." He tossed off his cap and together they ran through the station, the master calling after them.

They arrived at Lorenzo's minutes later, Mario's hand clasped firmly in Loretta's. She tapped twice on the fake wall and Lorenzo poked his face through the slot.

"Who is it?"

"Mr Lorenzo, it's me, Loretta…and Mario."

Lorenzo threw open the door, exposing his wide frame squeezed into a grey shirt, pair of braces and thick wool trousers.

"Mario."

"Hi, Pa."

"Where the heck have you been?! Do you have any idea how much pain you caused your Mother, she cries for you!"

"I'm sorry Pa. I've done some bad things, I know. I just want to say, I'm sorry."

"You can say that to your Mother, she's the one whose been bawlin' her eyes out."

"Okay, pa. I'll do that."

"You damn will do it. Now tell me, what's been going on with you?"

He ushered the two people into the bar and closed the door behind them.

"Gee, Pa…Loretta found me at Grand Central. I didn't mean to run away from her or you, I just…I became a rigger."

"A rigger?" A muscle twitched in Lorenzo's eye, "my son got a job as a rigger?"

"That's right. I'm sorry Pa."

"No, no, it's okay, boy. You learn from your mistakes." He patted him on the shoulder and turned to Loretta.

"I'm guessing you want to marry this here filly."

"Yes, Pa." Mario replied and Loretta squealed.

"Well, Lor?" Mario leant down on one knee, "will you marry me?"

Loretta's heart jumped. Just like Daniel's Lily she would have a husband!

"Yes!" She jumped up and down, "I love you, Mario!"

Lorenzo hurried off to get his wife and she was reintroduced to her son and his new fiancée.

"Oh, it is marvellous news, don't you agree, Luka?"

"Of course it is, Rosa. Our boy is now a man. He has chosen a bride and they will make their family."

"Yes," she leaned against his shoulder, "you know I remember you being like that."

"Until I found the prettiest girl in Sicily and took her for my bride." He kissed her head. "I don't regret one day, especially not moving here."

"We are just another one of thousands, you know." Rosa reminded him, "what about the girl who used to work here?"

"Lily, you mean?" Rosa nodded.

"Don't you worry about her, she's found her guy and they have a child."

"Ah, the young are such sweet lovers." Rosa pulled out a bottle of wine, "we should toast them."

She poured the wine into glasses and held one up.

"To the young lovers."

"Yes," Lorenzo lifted his own glass, "to the young lovers." They drank the wine and watched the newly engaged couple, their son and his soon to be wife, dance around the floor to an Italian melody.


	16. The Tealeaves of Times Square, July 1934

By the time the 4th July had come around, both Lily and Loretta had spent their first month as new wives. At Hudson Street the renovation plans were nearly complete and along with some help from the girls, they had managed to turn the formerly ramshackle townhouse building into a pleasant and comfortable home worthy of exhibition. The old functional kitchen had been stripped and repaired, creating a larger space for dining and teaching and the dormitories had received their first coat of paint in what seemed like decades.

"Daniel, hurry up, we'll miss the parade!" Lily called to Daniel as they prepared to leave the house.

"Okay, okay, I'll be there!" he paused as he stepped out onto the street.

"Forgetting anything?" Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Don't think so…oh yeah." He opened the door and called back into the hallway, "hey!" The sound of pattering against the steps filled the hall and seconds later a crowd of 250 girls descended on the sidewalk, all dressed up in fine printed dresses and smocks; apart from Pepper of course, who had chosen to wear a pair of slacks with a blouse that Lily had made for her.

"Aw, look at Danny Junior!" Squealed Duffy, pointing at the baby in the pram, who had donned a pale blue bonnet and matching suit for the occasion.

"You all look wonderful," Lily commented, pulling a few bows straight, "Daniel! Hurry up!"

Daniel swung himself around and locked the door, he looked every bit the new Yorker in his sharp cream suit and two tone brogues. He'd also bought a new hat for the occasion, a smart trilby with a feather in the rim. Lily had chosen it for him as a wedding present and he had been wearing it ever since.

"Now, you know that when we get to the City you must stay with us. No running off."

"Yes Mom!"

Daniel and Lily escorted the girls all the way to Times Square where the parade would take place. It was already decorated to the highest standard despite the Depression. People had hung out the national flag from as many windows as possible, creating an interesting display of red and blue down the front of many buildings. The dancers were waiting eagerly in the centre along with the Mayor of New York and as the girls edged through the crowds to the front, they spotted a familiar face.

"It's ANNIE!" July cried excitedly.

"Ohmygoodness, ohmygoodness!" Duffy squealed, pointing at Annie who was wearing a bright red dress with a blue and white sash around her waist, "she looks swell! Wish I was up there!"

"Not me," groaned Pepper, "who wants to be up there on the stage?"

"I do!" Agreed Molly, jumping up and down. Lily nudged Daniel and he lifted Molly up, prompting Marnie to protest.

"I'm shortest! I should be lifted up!"

Daniel laughed and placed Molly down to pick Marnie up. She folded her arms around his neck and he held her on his shoulders. Lily stole a glance at him. He really was a changed man. Two years ago he didn't have a care for children; they were just a nuisance to bear whilst he made his way through various crooked schemes to get as many bucks as possible, and, she reminded herself, I used to be part of them.

"You okay, Lil?" He asked.

"I'm great, Daniel." She smiled at him, "just great."

Daniel knelt down so that Marnie could land safely and kissed Lily.

"Now, the Independence Day Parade is proud to present, Oliver Warbucks and Miss Annie Warbucks!" A cheer erupted from the crowd and Marnie dashed out to see Annie.

"MARNIE!" Lily called, but the little girl kept on running, clambering onto the float. Annie saw her and hauled her up.

"And as a surprise to the City of New York, here are the Orphans of Hudson Street Orphanage!" She told the astonished crowd, who stood back as the orphans rushed at the float.

"Only that kid could do that!" Daniel sighed, "just look at her, she's got New York City at her feet."

"She is Warbucks kid."

"Yeah," Daniel looked at Lily meaningfully. What they had planned to do to Annie two years previously now seemed pure evil.

"We wouldn't have done it." Lily squeezed his arm, and indicated Danny Junior, "this is what stopped us."

Daniel looked down into the pram and grinned. Yes, he had been a cruel and even villainous con man, but having Danny Junior had taught him what really mattered. It was family and love, both things he had with Lily.

"Daniel!" A woman next to him suddenly exclaimed, "fancy, you are here too!" Lily turned to see Loretta standing with her new husband.

"You found Mario?" Daniel stared at her.

"Yes," Loretta squeezed Mario's hand, "Mario, this is Mr Hannigan, I met him in New Jersey."

"Hi, as she says, I'm Mario."

"I'm Lily," Lily stepped in front of Daniel, holding onto the pram handle, "this is Daniel."

"Great to meet you." Mario shook hands with Daniel as Lily looked on, yes, okay she had been annoyed at Daniel for not telling her about Loretta, but now the young Latino seemed very settled with her own husband. It was the fairytale element of New York, love could be found in even the bleakest of situations, be it on the sidewalk, at Grand Central Station, or even in Times Square whilst watching the Independence Day parade. A young girl came up and stood in front of the two couples, obscuring their view. Daniel looked around suspiciously. He'd played the same trick with Lily on several occasions and was wise to the scam. He spun around and caught a boy who was trying to steal his wallet out of his jacket.

"I don't think so, kid."

The girl turned and saw her partner held by the scruff. It was strange, but she looked like a younger version of Lily, dressed in a frilly and outlandish dress and peroxide blonde curls.

"Jimmy!" She groaned, "what'cha get caught for?"

Daniel exchanged looks with Lily. They knew what each other was thinking; that could have been us, when we started out.

"So, Jimmy, can I give you a tip?" Suggested Daniel, relaxing his grip on the boy's suit.

"What kinda tip?"

"If you want to pick pockets, don't do it when there's a cop nearby." He indicated a cop at the back of the crowd. The boy stared at him as though he couldn't believe it.

"You're telling me how to pick pockets?"

"That's right. I used to do the same, kid."

Jimmy pulled back.

"You was never a crap shooter."

"You'd be surprised, kid."

"Okay, then, prove it. Go on, old timer."

Daniel's pride was threatened and Lily recognised the signs. It could only mean one thing, he would have to prove himself.

"Okay," Daniel selected an unwitting victim and carefully slid the purse into his hand. Jimmy gaped at him, how could this guy do that?

"Hey," he nudged the victim, "you dropped your purse."

"Thanks." The woman smiled, "how honest of you to return it. Here," she unzipped the purse and handed over a ten dollar bill, "have this."

"Gee, thanks." Daniel pocketed the bill and tipped his hat to the lady.

"That's how it's done, kid." He told Jimmy, who pulled himself up and took hold of his girl's hand.

"Come on, Connie."

Connie gave a smug grin and joined Jimmy.

"Thanks for the tip, schmuck." It was only as Jimmy was walking away that Lily realised, Connie had taken her compact.

"The little…" Lily shook her head, "you're not as quick as you used to be, Danny."

"Oh yeah?" To her astonishment, Daniel brought out the compact.

"How did you…?" Daniel grinned at her and handed over the compact, "she tried that trick that you used to do. Secret pockets on the dress."

Lily giggled. The girl reminded her so much of herself. She leaned over the pram and kissed Daniel.

"I love you, Daniel Hannigan."

"I love you too, Lily Hannigan."

He held her close and they watched as the float led the procession through the centre of the Square, the girls dancing around on it with Annie.

Lily smiled to herself. Only in New York.


End file.
